158.6453 Definitions -- Review of academic standards and assessments -- Revisions
4,763 words·~22 min read·
/ky/158-6453A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
to content standards -- Review committees -- Advisory panels -- Standards and
assessments process review committee -- Administrative regulations --
Information and training -- Statewide assessment program -- Academic
components -- Student assessments -- College admissions examination -- School
report card -- Individual student report -- Reviewing and revising academic
standards -- Writing program -- School profile report -- Advanced coursework
or accelerated learning district plan. (Effective until July 1,
2026)
(1)As used in this section:
(a)"Accelerated learning" means an organized way of helping students meet
individual academic goals by providing direct instruction to eliminate student
performance deficiencies or enable students to move more quickly through
course requirements and pursue higher level skill development;
(b)"Advanced coursework" means educational programs or opportunities
designed to challenge students with more rigorous content beyond the
standard curriculum, including but not limited to advanced placement,
International Baccalaureate, and honors courses;
(c)"Constructed-response items" or "performance-based items" means individual
test items that require the student to create an answer rather than select a
response and may include fill-in-the-blank, short-answer, extended-answer,
open-response, and writing-on-demand formats;
(d)"Criterion-referenced test" means a test that is aligned with defined academic
content standards and measures an individual student's level of performance
against the standards;
(e)"End-of-course examination" means the same as defined in KRS 158.860;
(f)"Formative assessment" means a process used by teachers and students during
instruction to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students'
achievement of intended instructional outcomes. Formative assessments may
include the use of commercial assessments, classroom observations, teacher-
designed classroom tests and assessments, and other processes and
assignments to gain information about individual student learning;
(g)"Interim assessments" means assessments that are given periodically
throughout the year to provide diagnostic information and to show individual
student performance against content standards;
(h)"Summative assessment" means an assessment given at the end of the school
year, semester, or other period of time to evaluate students' performance
against content standards within a unit of instruction or a course; and
(i)"Writing" means a purposeful act of thinking and expression that uses
language to explore ideas and communicate meaning to others. Writing is a
complex, multifaceted act of communication and is distinct from basic
handwriting or penmanship.
(a)Beginning in fiscal year 2017-2018, and every six
(6)years thereafter, the
Kentucky Department of Education shall implement a process for reviewing
Kentucky's academic standards and the alignment of corresponding
assessments for possible revision or replacement to ensure alignment with
transition readiness standards necessary for global competitiveness, state
career and technical education standards, and KRS 158.196.
(b)The revisions to the content standards shall:
1. Focus on critical knowledge, skills, and capacities needed for success in
the global economy;
2. Result in fewer but more in-depth standards to facilitate mastery
learning;
3. Communicate expectations more clearly and concisely to teachers,
parents, students, and citizens;
4. Be based on evidence-based research;
5. Consider international benchmarks; and
6. Ensure that the standards are aligned from elementary to high school to
postsecondary education so that students can be successful at each
education level.
(c)1. The department shall establish four
(4)standards and assessments
review committees, with each committee composed of a minimum of six
(6)Kentucky public school teachers and a minimum of two
representatives from Kentucky institutions of higher education,
including at least one
(1)representative from a public institution of
higher education. Each committee member shall teach in the subject
area that his or her committee is assigned to review and have no prior or
current affiliation with a curriculum or assessment resources vendor.
2. One
(1)of the four
(4)committees shall be assigned to focus on the
review of language arts and writing academic standards and
assessments, one
(1)on the review of mathematics academic standards
and assessments, one
(1)on the review of science academic standards
and assessments, and one
(1)on the review of social studies academic
standards and assessments.
(d)1. The department shall establish twelve
(12)advisory panels to advise and
assist each of the four
(4)standards and assessments review committees.
2. Three
(3)advisory panels shall be assigned to each standards and
assessments review committee. One
(1)panel shall review the standards
and assessments for kindergarten through grade five (5), one
(1)shall
review the standards and assessments for grades six
(6)through eight
(8), and one
(1)shall review the standards and assessments for grades
nine
(9)through twelve (12).
3. Each advisory panel shall be composed of at least one
(1)representative
from a Kentucky institution of higher education and a minimum of six
(6)Kentucky public school teachers who teach in the grade level and
subject reviewed by the advisory panel to which they are assigned and
have no prior or current affiliation with a curriculum or assessment
resources vendor.
(e)The commissioner of education and the president of the Council on
Postsecondary Education shall also provide consultants for the standards and
assessments review committees and the advisory panels who are business and
industry professionals actively engaged in career fields that depend on the
various content areas.
(f)1. The standards and assessments process review committee is hereby
established and shall be composed of the commissioner of education or
designee as a nonvoting member and nine
(9)voting representatives of
public schools, of whom at least two
(2)shall be parents of public
school students, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate
in accordance with KRS 11.160 as follows:
a. One
(1)language arts teacher;
b. One
(1)math teacher;
c. One
(1)science teacher;
d. One
(1)social studies teacher;
e. Two
(2)school principals;
f. Two
(2)school superintendents; and
g. One
(1)school board member.
2. On making appointments to the committee, the Governor shall ensure
broad geographical urban and rural representation and representation of
elementary, middle, and high school levels; ensure equal representation
of the two
(2)sexes, inasmuch as possible; and ensure that appointments
reflect the minority racial composition of the Commonwealth.
3. The review of the committee shall be limited to the procedural aspects
of the review process undertaken prior to its consideration.
4. Notwithstanding KRS 12.028, the committee shall not be subject to
reorganization by the Governor.
(g)1. The review process implemented under this subsection shall be an open,
transparent process that allows all Kentuckians an opportunity to
participate. The department shall ensure the public's assistance in
reviewing and suggesting changes to the standards and alignment
adjustments to corresponding state assessments by establishing a
website dedicated to collecting comments by the public and educators.
An independent third party, which has no prior or current affiliation with
a curriculum or assessment resources vendor, shall be selected by the
department to collect and transmit the comments to the department for
dissemination to the appropriate advisory panel for review and
consideration.
2. Each advisory panel shall review the standards and assessments for its
assigned subject matter and grade level and the suggestions made by the
public and educators. After completing its review, each advisory panel
shall make recommendations for changes to the standards and alignment
adjustments for assessments to the appropriate standards and
assessments review committee.
3. Each standards and assessments review committee shall review the
findings and make recommendations to revise or replace existing
standards and to adjust alignment of assessments.
4. The recommendations shall be published on the website established in
this subsection for the purpose of gathering additional feedback from the
public. The commissioner shall subsequently present the
recommendations and the public feedback to the Interim Joint
Committee on Education.
5. The commissioner shall subsequently provide a report to the standards
and assessments process review committee summarizing the process
conducted under this subsection and the resulting recommendations. The
report shall include but not be limited to the timeline of the review
process, public feedback, and responses from the Interim Joint
Committee on Education.
6. After receiving the commissioner's report, the standards and assessments
process review committee shall either concur that stakeholders have had
adequate opportunity to provide input on standards and the
corresponding alignment of state assessments or find the input process
deficient. If the process is found deficient, the recommendations may be
returned to the appropriate standards and assessments review committee
for review as described in subparagraph 3. of this paragraph. If the
process is found sufficient, the recommendations shall be forwarded
without amendment to the Kentucky Board of Education.
(h)The Kentucky Board of Education shall promulgate administrative regulations
in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A as may be needed for the administration
of the review process, including staggering the timing and sequence of the
review process by subject area and remuneration of the review committees
and advisory panels described in paragraphs
(c)and
(d)of this subsection.
(i)1. The Kentucky Board of Education shall consider for approval the
revisions to academic standards for a content area and the alignment of
the corresponding state assessment once recommendations are received
from the standards and assessments process review committee. Existing
state academic standards shall remain in place until the board approves
new standards.
2. Any revision to, or replacement of, the academic standards and
assessments as a result of the review process conducted under this
subsection shall be implemented in Kentucky public schools no later
than the second academic year following the review process. Existing
academic standards shall be used until new standards are implemented.
3. The Department of Education shall disseminate the academic content
standards to the schools and teacher preparation programs.
(j)The Department of Education shall provide or facilitate statewide training
sessions for existing teachers and administrators on how to:
1. Integrate the revised content standards into classroom instruction;
2. Better integrate performance assessment of students within their
instructional practices; and
3. Help all students use higher-order thinking and communication skills.
(k)The Education Professional Standards Board in cooperation with the
Kentucky Board of Education and the Council on Postsecondary Education
shall coordinate information and training sessions for faculty and staff in all of
the teacher preparation programs in the use of the revised academic content
standards. The Education Professional Standards Board shall ensure that each
teacher preparation program includes use of the academic standards in the
pre-service education programs and that all teacher interns will have
experience planning classroom instruction based on the revised standards.
(l)The Council on Postsecondary Education in cooperation with the Kentucky
Department of Education and the postsecondary education institutions in the
state shall coordinate information sessions regarding the academic content
standards for faculty who teach in the various content areas.
(a)The Kentucky Board of Education shall be responsible for creating and
implementing a balanced statewide assessment program that measures the
students', schools', and districts' achievement of the goals set forth in KRS
158.645 and 158.6451, to ensure compliance with the federal Every Student
Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95, or its successor, and to ensure
school accountability.
(b)The board shall revise the annual statewide assessment program as needed in
accordance with revised academic standards and corresponding assessment
alignment adjustments approved by the board under subsection
(2)of this
section.
(c)The statewide assessments shall not include any academic standards not
approved by the board under subsection
(2)of this section.
(d)The board shall seek the advice of the Office of Education Accountability; the
School Curriculum, Assessment, and Accountability Council; the Education
Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee, and the department's
technical advisory committee in the development of the assessment program.
The statewide assessment program shall not include measurement of a
student's ability to become a self-sufficient individual or to become a
responsible member of a family, work group, or community.
(a)The academic components of the statewide assessment program shall be
composed of annual student summative tests, which may include a
combination of multiple competency-based assessment and performance
measures approved by the Kentucky Board of Education.
(b)The annual student summative tests shall:
1. Measure individual student achievement in language, reading, English,
mathematics, science, and social studies at designated grades;
2. Provide teachers and parents a valid and reliable comprehensive analysis
of skills mastered by individual students;
3. Provide diagnostic information that identifies strengths and academic
deficiencies of individual students in the content areas;
4. Provide information to teachers that can enable them to improve
instruction for current and future students;
5. Provide longitudinal profiles for students; and
6. Ensure school and district accountability for student achievement of the
goals set forth in KRS 158.645 and 158.6451, except the statewide
assessment program shall not include measurement of a student's ability
to become a self-sufficient individual or to become a responsible
member of a family, work group, or community.
(5)The state student assessments shall include the following components:
(a)Elementary and middle grades requirements are:
1. A criterion-referenced test each in mathematics and reading in grades
three
(3)through eight
(8)that is valid and reliable for an individual
student and that measures the depth and breadth of Kentucky's academic
content standards;
2. A criterion-referenced test each in science and social studies that is valid
and reliable for an individual student as necessary to measure the depth
and breadth of Kentucky's academic content standards to be
administered one
(1)time within the elementary and middle grades,
respectively;
3. An on-demand assessment of student writing to be administered one
time within the elementary grades and one
(1)time within the middle
grades; and
4. An editing and mechanics test relating to writing, using multiple choice
and constructed response items, to be administered one
(1)time within
the elementary and the middle grades, respectively;
(b)High school requirements are:
1. A criterion-referenced test in mathematics, reading, and science that is
valid and reliable for an individual student and that measures the depth
and breadth of Kentucky's academic content standards to be
administered one
(1)time within the high school grades;
2. A criterion-referenced test in social studies that is valid and reliable for
an individual student as necessary to measure the depth and breadth of
Kentucky's academic content standards to be administered one
(1)time
within the high school grades;
3. An on-demand assessment of student writing to be administered one
time within the high school grades;
4. An editing and mechanics test relating to writing, using multiple choice
and constructed response items, to be administered one
(1)time within
the high school grades; and
5. A college admissions examination to assess English, reading,
mathematics, and science in the spring of grade eleven (11);
(c)The Kentucky Board of Education shall add any other component necessary
to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95,
or its successor, as determined by the United States Department of Education;
(d)The criterion-referenced components required in this subsection shall be
composed of constructed response items and multiple choice items;
(e)The Kentucky Board of Education may incorporate end-of-course
examinations into the assessment program to be used in lieu of requirements
for criterion-referenced tests required under paragraph
(b)of this subsection;
and
(f)The results of the assessment program developed under this subsection shall
be used by schools and districts to determine appropriate instructional
modifications for all students in order for students to make continuous
progress, including that needed by advanced learners.
(6)Each school district shall administer the statewide student assessment during the
last fourteen
(14)days of school in the district's instructional calendar. The
Kentucky Board of Education may change the testing window to allow for
innovative assessment systems or other online test administration and shall
promulgate administrative regulations that minimize the number of days of testing
and outline the procedures to be used during the testing process to ensure test
security, including procedures for testing makeup days, and to comply with federal
assessment requirements.
(7)A student enrolled in a district-operated or district-contracted alternative program
shall participate in the appropriate assessments required by this section.
(8)A local school district may select and use commercial interim or formative
assessments or develop and use its own formative assessments to provide data on
how well its students are growing toward mastery of Kentucky academic standards,
so long as the district's local school board develops a policy minimizing the
reduction in instructional time related to the administration of the interim
assessments. Nothing in this section precludes teachers from using ongoing teacher-
developed formative processes.
(9)Each school that enrolls primary students shall use diagnostic assessments and
prompts that measure readiness in reading and mathematics for its primary students
as determined by the school to be developmentally appropriate. The schools may
use commercial products, use products and procedures developed by the district, or
develop their own diagnostic procedures. The results shall be used to inform the
teachers and parents or guardians of each student's skill level.
(10)The state board shall ensure that a technically sound longitudinal comparison of the
assessment results for the same students shall be made available.
(11)The following provisions shall apply to the college admissions examination
described in subsection (5)(b)5. of this section:
(a)The cost of the college admissions examination administered to students in
high school shall be paid for by the Kentucky Department of Education. The
costs of additional college admissions examinations shall be the responsibility
of the student;
(b)If funds are available, the Kentucky Department of Education shall provide a
college admissions examination preparation program to all public high school
juniors. The department may contract for necessary services; and
(c)Accommodations provided to a student with a disability taking the college
admissions assessment under this subsection shall consist of:
1. Accommodations provided in a manner allowed by the college
admissions assessment provider when results in test scores are
reportable to a postsecondary institution for admissions and placement
purposes, except as provided in subparagraph 2. of this paragraph; or
2. Accommodations provided in a manner allowed by a student's
individualized education program as defined in KRS 158.281 for a
student whose disability precludes valid assessment of his or her
academic abilities using the accommodations provided under
subparagraph 1. of this paragraph when the student's scores are not
reportable to a postsecondary institution for admissions and placement
purposes.
(12)Kentucky teachers shall have a significant role in providing feedback about the
design of the assessments, except for the college admissions exam described in
subsection (5)(b)5. of this section. The assessments shall be designed to:
(a)Measure grade appropriate core academic content, basic skills, and higher-
order thinking skills and their application;
(b)Provide valid and reliable scores for schools. If scores are reported for
students individually, they shall be valid and reliable;
(c)Minimize the time spent by teachers and students on assessment; and
(d)Assess Kentucky academic standards only.
(13)The results from assessment under subsections
(3)and
(5)of this section shall be
reported to the school districts and schools no later than seventy-five
(75)days
following the last day the assessment can be administered. Assessment reports
provided to the school districts and schools shall include an electronic copy of an
operational subset of test items from each assessment administered to their students
and the results for each of those test items by student and by school.
(14)The Department of Education shall gather information to establish the validity of
the assessment and accountability program. It shall develop a biennial plan for
validation studies that shall include but not be limited to the consistency of student
results across multiple measures, the congruence of school scores with documented
improvements in instructional practice and the school learning environment, and the
potential for all scores to yield fair, consistent, and accurate student performance
level and school accountability decisions. Validation activities shall take place in a
timely manner and shall include a review of the accuracy of scores assigned to
students and schools, as well as of the testing materials. The plan shall be submitted
to the Commission by July 1 of the first year of each biennium. A summary of the
findings shall be submitted to the Legislative Research Commission by September
1 of the second year of the biennium.
(15)The Department of Education and the state board shall offer optional assistance to
local school districts and schools in developing and using continuous assessment
strategies needed to ensure student progress. The continuous assessment shall
provide diagnostic information to improve instruction to meet the needs of
individual students.
(16)The Administration Code for Kentucky's Assessment Program shall include
prohibitions of inappropriate test preparation activities by school district employees
charged with test administration and oversight, including but not limited to the issue
of teachers being required to do test practice in lieu of regular classroom instruction
and test practice outside the normal work day. The code shall include disciplinary
sanctions that may be taken toward a school or individuals.
(17)The Kentucky Board of Education, after the Department of Education has received
advice from the Office of Education Accountability; the School Curriculum,
Assessment, and Accountability Council; and the department's technical advisory
committee, shall promulgate an administrative regulation under KRS Chapter 13A
to establish the components of a reporting structure for assessments administered
under this section. The reporting structure shall include the following components:
(a)A school report card that clearly communicates with parents and the public
about school performance. The school report card shall be sent to the parents
of the students of the districts, and information on electronic access to a
summary of the results for the district shall be published in the newspaper
with the largest circulation in the county. It shall include but not be limited to
the following components reported by race, gender, and disability when
appropriate:
1. Student academic achievement, including the results from each of the
assessments administered under this section;
2. For Advanced Placement, Cambridge Advanced International, and
International Baccalaureate, the courses offered, the number of students
enrolled, completing, and taking the examination for each course, and
the percentage of examinees receiving a score of three
(3)or better on
AP examinations, a score of "e" or better on Cambridge Advanced
International examinations, or a score of four
(4)or better on IB
examinations. The data shall be disaggregated by gender, race, students
with disabilities, and economic status;
3. Nonacademic achievement, including the school's attendance, retention,
graduation rates, and student transition to postsecondary;
4. School learning environment, including measures of parental
involvement; and
5. Any other school performance data required by the Every Student
Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95, or its successor;
(b)An individual student report to parents for each student in grades three
through eight
(8)summarizing the student's skills in reading, science, social
studies, and mathematics. The school's staff shall develop a plan for
accelerated learning for any student with identified deficiencies or strengths;
and
(c)A student's score on the college admissions assessment administered under
subsection (5)(b)5. of this section.
(a)Beginning in fiscal year 2017-2018, and every six
(6)years thereafter, the
Kentucky Department of Education shall implement a comprehensive process
for reviewing and revising the academic standards in visual and performing
arts and practical living skills and career studies for all levels and in foreign
language for middle and high schools. The department shall develop review
committees for the standards for each of the content areas that include
representation from certified specialist public school teachers and
postsecondary teachers in those subject areas.
(b)The academic standards in practical living skills for elementary, middle, and
high school levels shall include a focus on drug abuse prevention, with an
emphasis on the prescription drug epidemic and the connection between
prescription opioid abuse and addiction to other drugs, such as heroin and
synthetic drugs.
(c)The department shall provide to all schools guidelines for programs that
incorporate the adopted academic standards in visual and performing arts and
practical living and career studies. The department shall provide to middle and
high schools guidelines for including a foreign language program. The
guidelines shall address program length and time, courses offered, staffing,
resources, and facilities.
(d)The Kentucky Department of Education, in consultation with certified public
school teachers of visual and performing arts, may develop program standards
for the visual and performing arts.
(19)The Kentucky Department of Education shall provide to all school districts
guidelines for including an effective writing program within the curriculum.
(a)The Kentucky Department of Education, in consultation with the review
committees described in subsection
(18)of this section, shall develop a school
profile report to be used by all schools to document how they will address the
adopted academic standards in their implementation of the programs as
described in subsection
(18)of this section, which may include student
opportunities and experiences in extracurricular activities. The department
shall include the essential workplace ethics program on the school profile
report.
(b)By October 1 of each year, each school principal shall complete the school
profile report, which shall be signed by the members of the school council, or
the principal if no school council exists, and the superintendent. The report
shall be electronically transmitted to the Kentucky Department of Education,
and the original shall be maintained on file at the local board office and made
available to the public upon request. The department shall include a link to
each school's profile report on its website.
(c)If a school staff member, student, or a student's parent has concerns regarding
deficiencies in a school's implementation of the programs described in
subsection
(18)of this section, he or she may submit a written inquiry to the
school council.
(a)No later than December 1, 2025, each local board of education shall adopt a
district plan establishing clear policies on the promotion of advanced
coursework or accelerated learning in language arts, mathematics, social
studies, and science by grade level for students in grades four
(4)to twelve
(12).
(b)The district plan required by paragraph
(a)of this subsection shall:
1. Be published on a publicly accessible location on the district website;
2. Describe the strategies and approach to advanced coursework or
accelerated learning options by grade level for language arts,
mathematics, social studies, and science; and
3. Require that the service delivery options for students identified as gifted
and talented in language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science
include the following for each grade level and subject area:
a. i. Accelerated learning; or
ii. Advanced coursework; and
b. At least one
(1)of the following service delivery options:
i. Collaborative teaching and consultation services;
ii. Special counseling services;
iii. Differentiated study experiences for individuals and cluster
groups in the regular classroom;
iv. Distance learning;
v. Enrichment services that are not extracurricular during the
school day;
vi. Independent study;
vii. Mentorships;
viii. Resource services delivered in a pull-out classroom or other
appropriate instructional setting;
ix. Seminars;
x. Travel study options; or
xi. Special schools or self-contained classrooms for students in
grades four
(4)through twelve
(12)only.
(c)The district plan required by paragraph
(a)of this subsection may:
1. Automatically enroll a student who scores distinguished in any subject
area on the most recent statewide assessment for which scores are
available in available advanced coursework for that subject area and any
corresponding subject area designated by the local board of education;
2. Include eligibility criteria for qualification for available advanced
coursework for all other students;
3. Require written consent from a parent or guardian of a student to
withdraw or exclude a student that is eligible for advanced coursework
according to the district plan from that advanced coursework. If a
student requests to withdraw from advanced coursework to pursue
another educational opportunity, a principal may withdraw the student
without written consent from a parent or guardian only after a good-faith
attempt to contact the parent or guardian is unsuccessful; and
4. Permit a principal to withdraw a student from advanced coursework
without written consent from his or her parent or guardian if the
student's participation in advanced coursework would have an adverse
educational impact on a student, including interference with his or her
career pathway, access to career and technical education coursework, or
another educational opportunity.
(a)The Kentucky Board of Education may promulgate administrative regulations
in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to administer the provisions of
subsection
(21)of this section.
(b)By December 1, 2025, the Kentucky Department of Education, in
collaboration with local school districts, shall establish school district
recommendations for the consistent use of preliminary assessment data and
other criteria to identify students prepared for advanced coursework.