Sec. 4111. Competency-based assessment and accountability demonstration authority
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Title IV ( 20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq. ) is amended by inserting after part J, as redesignated under section 4110(1), the following: In this part: The term college and career ready standards means the academic content and student academic achievement standards adopted by a State under section 1111(a)(1). The term competency means a target for student learning representing key content-specific concepts and higher order skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and self-directed learning that is— applied within or across content domains; and aligned with college and career ready standards.
The term core indicators means— State academic assessments that meet the requirements of section 1111(a)(2)(B) and that provide data that can be compared with data regarding the State academic assessments required under section 1111(a)(2); and State graduation rates. The term eligible entity means a State educational agency or consortium of State educational agencies. The term mastery means a level of knowledge or skill development demonstrated by a student signifying that the student has met a standard and is prepared to progress to a subsequent standard.
The term performance assessment means a multi-step assessment that— includes complex activities with clear criteria, expectations, and processes that enable students to interact with meaningful content; and measures the depth at which students learn content and apply complex skills to create or refine an original product or solution. The term universal design has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3002(a)). The Secretary may provide eligible entities, in accordance with paragraph (3), with the authority to incorporate competency-based accountability into the State accountability system required under section 1111(a)(3) in accordance with an application approved under subsection (c).
Each award of demonstration authority under this part shall be for a period of 3 years. During the initial 3-year period of demonstration authority under this section, the Secretary may not provide more than 3 eligible entities with the authority described in paragraph (1). After the end of the initial demonstration period described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary may provide additional eligible entities with demonstration authority described in paragraph (1), subject to each of the requirements of this part as applicable, if the Secretary determines that the demonstration authority provided under this part during the initial demonstration period has effectively supported student progress on core indicators among students served by the eligible entities, including subgroups of students described in section 1111(a)(3)(D).
The Secretary may renew an award of demonstration authority under this part for additional 2-year periods if the eligible entity demonstrates progress on core indicators. To be eligible to participate in the demonstration under this part, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, that describes the competency-based accountability system that will be used by the eligible entity, including— an assurance that the competency-based accountability system will only utilize summative assessments for accountability purposes that— are determined by the Secretary to provide comparable data across the eligible entity, demonstrate inter-rater reliability, and meet the requirements for assessments described in section 1111(a)(2)(B); have been field-tested; are aligned to college and career ready standards and State-approved competencies; have been developed in collaboration with stakeholders representing the interests of students with disabilities, English learners, and civil rights organizations in the State, as demonstrated through modifications made to the assessments resulting from such collaboration; and incorporate the principles of universal design; how the competency-based accountability system will— incorporate a system of formative, interim, and summative assessments, including the use of performance assessments and other sources of evidence of student learning that determine mastery of State-approved competencies aligned to college and career ready standards and competencies; allow students to demonstrate progress toward mastery of such standards and State-approved competencies; assess mastery of State-approved competencies when students are ready to demonstrate mastery of such standards and competencies; provide students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of such standards and competencies; ensure that summative assessments comply with the requirements for academic assessments, as described in section 1111(a)(2)(B), while engaging and supporting teachers in scoring assessments, including the use of high quality professional development, standardized and calibrated scoring rubrics, and other strategies to ensure inter-rater reliability and comparability of determinations of mastery across the State; provide educators, students, and parents with real-time data to inform instructional practice and continuously improve student performance; be used in conjunction with the accountability requirements described in section 1111(a)(3) and section 1116 to improve the academic outcomes of focus schools identified under section 1116(c), priority schools identified under section 1116(d), and all other schools that fail to meet the school performance targets, established in accordance with section 1111(a)(3)(C), for any subgroup described in section 1111(a)(3)(D); require not less than 1 year of academic growth within a school year for each student and assure instructional support and targeted intervention are in place for those students performing below their peers; and only utilize a student's individualized education program, as defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, for purposes specifically allowed under such Act; the eligible entity’s plan to— ensure that all students, including each student subgroup described in section 1111(a)(3)(D)— are held to the same high standard; demonstrate annually, at a minimum, at least 1 year of academic growth consistent with the requirement in section 1111(a)(3)(B); and receive the instructional support needed to attain mastery of college and career ready standards and State-approved competencies; train local educational agency and school staff to implement the assessments described in paragraph (2)(A); acclimate students to the new assessment and accountability systems; and ensure that each local educational agency has the technological infrastructure to operate the competency-based accountability system described in this section; and a description of how instruction and professional development will be enhanced within the competency-based system to personalize the educational experience for each student to ensure all students graduate college and career ready, as determined in accordance with State academic achievement standards under section 1111(a)(1).
The Secretary shall— implement a peer review process, which shall include a review team comprised of practitioners and experts who are knowledgeable about competency-based learning systems, to inform the awarding of the demonstration authority under this part; and make publicly available the applications submitted under subsection
(c)and the peer comments and recommendations on such applications. The Secretary may withdraw the demonstration authority provided to an eligible entity under this part if— at any point after the first 2 years of the 3-year demonstration period described in subsection (b)(2), the Secretary determines that student performance for all students served by the eligible entity or any student subgroup described under section 1111(a)(3)(D) has declined on core indicators; or after providing a State with a renewal of demonstration authority under subsection (b)(3), the Secretary makes a determination that student performance has declined on core indicators for 2 consecutive years during the State's participation in the demonstration under this part. The Secretary shall disseminate best practices on the implementation of competency-based accountability systems, including on— the effective use of formative, interim, and summative assessments to inform instruction; the development of summative assessments that meet the requirements of section 1111(a)(2)(B), can be compared with the State assessments required under section 1111(a)(2), and include assessment tasks that determine mastery of State-approved competencies aligned to college and career ready standards; and the development of standardized and calibrated scoring rubrics, and other strategies to ensure inter-rater reliability and comparability of determinations of mastery across the State. .
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Sec. 4111
Competency-based assessment and accountability demonstration authority
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