1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; replacing the mathematics GRAD with an end-of-course 
1.3 	algebra exam;amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120B.30, subdivision 
1.4 	1, by adding a subdivision.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120B.30, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Statewide testing.  (a) The commissioner, with advice from experts 
1.8 	with appropriate technical qualifications and experience and stakeholders, consistent with 
1.9 	subdivision 1a, shall include in the comprehensive assessment system, for each grade 
1.10 	level to be tested, state-constructed tests developed from and aligned with the state's 
1.11 	required academic standards under section 120B.021, include multiple choice questions, 
1.12 	and be administered annually to all students in grades 3 through 8. State-developed high 
1.13 	school tests aligned with the state's required academic standards under section 120B.021 
1.14 	and administered to all high school students in a subject other than writing must include 
1.15 	multiple choice questions. The commissioner shall establish one or more months during 
1.16 	which schools shall administer the tests to students each school year. For students enrolled 
1.17 	in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 school year, Minnesota basic skills tests in reading, 
1.18 	mathematics, and writing shall fulfill students' basic skills testing requirements for a 
1.19 	passing state notation. The passing scores of basic skills tests in reading and mathematics 
1.20 	are the equivalent of 75 percent correct for students entering grade 9 based on the 
1.21 	first uniform test administered in February 1998. Students who have not successfully 
1.22 	passed a Minnesota basic skills test by the end of the 2011-2012 school year must pass 
1.23 	the graduation-required assessments for diploma under paragraph (c), except that for 
2.1 	the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years only, these students may satisfy the state's 
2.2 	graduation test requirement for math by complying with paragraph (d), clauses (1) and (3).
2.3 	(b) The state assessment system must be aligned to the most recent revision of 
2.4 	academic standards as described in section 120B.023 in the following manner:
2.5 	(1) mathematics;
2.6 	(i) grades 3 through 8 beginning in the 2010-2011 school year; and
2.7 	(ii) high school level beginning in the 2013-2014 school year;
2.8 	(2) science; grades 5 and 8 and at the high school level beginning in the 2011-2012 
2.9 	school year; and
2.10 	(3) language arts and reading; grades 3 through 8 and high school level beginning in 
2.11 	the 2012-2013 school year.
2.12 	(c) Except as provided in subdivision 1b, for students enrolled in grade 8 in the 
2.13 	2005-2006 school year and later, only the following options shall fulfill students' state 
2.14 	graduation test requirements:
2.15 	(1) for reading and mathematics:
2.16 	(i) obtaining an achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as 
2.17 	determined through a standard setting process on the Minnesota comprehensive 
2.18 	assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or achieving a passing 
2.19 	score as determined through a standard setting process on the graduation-required 
2.20 	assessment for diploma in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or 
2.21 	subsequent retests;
2.22 	(ii) achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process 
2.23 	on the state-identified language proficiency test in reading and the mathematics test for 
2.24 	English learners or the graduation-required assessment for diploma equivalent of those 
2.25 	assessments for students designated as English learners;
2.26 	(iii) achieving an individual passing score on the graduation-required assessment for 
2.27 	diploma as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an individualized 
2.28 	education program or 504 plan;
2.29 	(iv) obtaining achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as 
2.30 	determined through a standard setting process on the state-identified alternate assessment 
2.31 	or assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics for students with 
2.32 	an individualized education program; or
2.33 	(v) achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate assessment 
2.34 	or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an 
2.35 	individualized education program; and
2.36 	(2) for writing:
3.1 	(i) achieving a passing score on the graduation-required assessment for diploma;
3.2 	(ii) achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on 
3.3 	the state-identified language proficiency test in writing for students designated as English 
3.4 	learners;
3.5 	(iii) achieving an individual passing score on the graduation-required assessment for 
3.6 	diploma as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an individualized 
3.7 	education program or 504 plan; or
3.8 	(iv) achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate assessment 
3.9 	or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an 
3.10 	individualized education program.
3.11 	(d) Students enrolled in grade 8 in any school year from the 2005-2006 school 
3.12 	year to the 2009-2010 school year who do not pass the mathematics graduation-required 
3.13 	assessment for diploma under paragraph (c) are eligible to receive a high school diploma 
3.14 	if they:
3.15 	(1) complete with a passing score or grade all state and local coursework and credits 
3.16 	required for graduation by the school board granting the students their diploma;
3.17 	(2) participate in district-prescribed academic remediation in mathematics; and
3.18 	(3) fully participate in at least two retests of the mathematics GRAD test or until 
3.19 	they pass the mathematics GRAD test, whichever comes first. A school, district, or charter 
3.20 	school must place on the high school transcript a student's current pass status for each 
3.21 	subject that has a required graduation assessment.
3.22 	In addition, the school board granting the students their diplomas may formally 
3.23 	decide to include a notation of high achievement on the high school diplomas of those 
3.24 	graduating seniors who, according to established school board criteria, demonstrate 
3.25 	exemplary academic achievement during high school.
3.26 	(e) The 3rd through 8th grade and high school test results shall be available to 
3.27 	districts for diagnostic purposes affecting student learning and district instruction and 
3.28 	curriculum, and for establishing educational accountability. The commissioner must 
3.29 	disseminate to the public the high school test results upon receiving those results.
3.30 	(f) The 3rd through 8th grade and high school tests must be aligned with state 
3.31 	academic standards. The commissioner shall determine the testing process and the order 
3.32 	of administration. The statewide results shall be aggregated at the site and district level, 
3.33 	consistent with subdivision 1a.
3.34 	(g) In addition to the testing and reporting requirements under this section, the 
3.35 	commissioner shall include the following components in the statewide public reporting 
3.36 	system:
4.1 	(1) uniform statewide testing of all students in grades 3 through 8 and at the high 
4.2 	school level that provides appropriate, technically sound accommodations or alternate 
4.3 	assessments;
4.4 	(2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and compared across school 
4.5 	districts and across time on a statewide basis, including average daily attendance, high 
4.6 	school graduation rates, and high school drop-out rates by age and grade level;
4.7 	(3) state results on the American College Test; and
4.8 	(4) state results from participation in the National Assessment of Educational 
4.9 	Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against the nation and other 
4.10 	states, and, where possible, against other countries, and contribute to the national effort 
4.11 	to monitor achievement.

4.12 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120B.30, is amended by adding a subdivision 
4.13 	to read:
4.14 		Subd. 1b.End-of-course algebra exam. (a) The commissioner shall establish a 
4.15 	statewide end-of-course exam in high school algebra. The exam must conform with 
4.16 	the following:
4.17 	(1) align with the most recently revised academic content standards under section 
4.18 	120B.023, subdivision 2;
4.19 	(2) include both multiple-choice and open-ended items that assess the appropriate 
4.20 	algebra knowledge and skills contained in the state's academic content standards;
4.21 	(3) be designed for computer administration and scoring;
4.22 	(4) be administered at regular intervals that align with the most common high school 
4.23 	schedules in Minnesota;
4.24 	(5) generate achievement levels established through a professionally recognized 
4.25 	methodology;
4.26 	(6) comprise 25 percent of the student's overall course grade in the corresponding 
4.27 	course;
4.28 	(7) require a student who does not pass a high school algebra course to (i) 
4.29 	retake the course or complete a district-authorized credit recovery class, (ii) opt, at the 
4.30 	student's election, to retake the end-of-course assessment within a regularly scheduled 
4.31 	administration window, and (iii) have the student select the exam score on the initial test or 
4.32 	the retest to count as the equivalent of 25 percent of the student's overall course grade; and
4.33 	(8) allow an eligible student to meet this requirement through an alternative method 
4.34 	that demonstrates the student's college and career readiness:
5.1 	(i) for high school students who transfer into Minnesota from another state where 
5.2 	the algebra course content is of equal or greater rigor, pass that state's high school course 
5.3 	and graduation requirements in algebra;
5.4 	(ii) allow a student who has an active individualized education program to achieve a 
5.5 	passing status at an individual level as prescribed by the commissioner;
5.6 	(iii) waive the required exam for a high school student who is an English language 
5.7 	learner under section 124D.59 and who has been enrolled for four or fewer years in a 
5.8 	school in which English is the primary language of instruction; or
5.9 	(iv) other alternative methods recommended by the Assessment Advisory Committee, 
5.10 	if subsequently specifically authorized by law to allow other alternative methods;
5.11 	(b) The requirements of this subdivision apply to students in public schools, 
5.12 	including charter schools, who enter grade 8 in the 2013-2014 school year or later. 
5.13 	The commissioner may establish a transition period where students who enter grade 
5.14 	8 in the 2013-2014 or 2014-2015 school year graduate either under the mathematics 
5.15 	Graduation-Required Assessment for Diploma requirements under section 120B.30, 
5.16 	subdivision 1, or through a staggered implementation of this subdivision.
5.17 	(c) To fully implement this subdivision and enable school districts to provide 
5.18 	intervention and support to struggling students and improve instruction for all students, 
5.19 	the commissioner must provide districts with:
5.20 	(1) benchmark assessments that are aligned with the high school algebra 
5.21 	end-of-course exam; and
5.22 	(2) an item bank available to teachers for creating formative assessments to help 
5.23 	students prepare for the high school algebra end-of-course exam.