Jan-Feb 2017 Committee on Instruction Item 2
Review of 19 TAC Chapter 101, Assessment
February 2, 2017
COMMITTEE ON INSTRUCTION: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: Texas Government Code, §2001.039, establishes a four-year rule review cycle for all state agency rules, including State Board of Education (SBOE) rules. This item presents the review of 19 TAC Chapter 101, Assessment, Subchapter A, General Provisions, Subchapter B, Implementation of Assessments, and Subchapter C, Local Option. The rules being reviewed address the development and administration of tests, voluntary assessment of private school students, the schedule for the release of tests, and administration and reporting of group-administered achievement tests.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for the rule review is Texas Government Code, §2001.039. The statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapters A-C, is Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.0211, and Chapter 39, Subchapter B.
BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE last adopted the review of 19 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapters A-C, in April 2013, finding that the reason for initially adopting the rules continued to exist.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: The review of 19 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapters A-C, will be presented to the SBOE for adoption at the April 2017 board meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The goal of the Texas assessment program is to measure and support student progress toward achieving academic success. The primary purpose of the state student assessment program is to provide an accurate measure of student achievement in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, and science. Based on the requirements of the TEC, the assessment program evaluates the degree to which students have mastered the state-mandated curriculum, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), and are eligible for testing in each grade and subject area assessed.
In 2007, the 80th Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill (SB) 1031, and in 2009, the 81st Texas Legislature enacted House Bill (HB) 3, both of which made significant changes to the Texas student assessment program and required the development and implementation of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness program. With HB 2135 in 2011, the 82nd Texas Legislature further modified assessment requirements for students who test above grade level. HB 5, passed by the 83rd Texas Legislature in 2013, and HB 2349, passed by the 84th Texas Legislature in 2015, amended state assessment graduation requirements. In response to SB 1031, HB 3, HB 2135, HB 5, and HB 2349, the commissioner of education has adopted and amended rules as necessary to implement the legislative requirements for the assessment program. The commissioner rules include student testing requirements, grade advancement requirements, testing requirements for graduation, released test requirements through 2016, and accelerated instruction requirements.
According to the TEC, the SBOE is responsible for adopting rules related to the general establishment of the assessment program for purposes of accountability. This SBOE requirement is met through the following rules in 19 TAC Chapter 101.
• In Subchapter A, §101.1, Scope of Rules, §101.3, Policy, and §101.5, Student Testing Requirements, establish the assessment program and require all students receiving instruction in the TEKS to be assessed.
• In Subchapter B, §101.25, Schedule, and §101.27, Administrative Procedures, specify that the commissioner will adopt a schedule for administering the assessments and require uniform administrative procedures. Section 101.31, Private Schools, establishes provisions for the voluntary assessment of private school students. As provided by the TEC, §39.033(c), the SBOE approves the per-student costs for private schools that administer state assessments. Section 101.33, Release of Tests, establishes a release test schedule in accordance with the TEC, §39.023(e).
• In Subchapter C, §101.101, Group-Administered Tests, governs the administration and renorming of local option group-administered assessments as authorized under the TEC, §39.026 and §39.032.
In 2013, the SBOE adopted revisions to align the rules in 19 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapters A-C, with state law and to eliminate possible conflicts between SBOE and commissioner responsibilities.
ANTICIPATED REVISIONS TO RULES: TEA staff does not anticipate any changes to the rules in 19 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapters A-C.
RULE REVIEW: The TEA plans to file the notice of proposed review of 19 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapters A-C, with the Texas Register following the January/February 2017 SBOE meeting. The TEA will accept comments as to whether the reasons for adopting 19 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapters A-C, continue to exist. The official comment period will begin with publication of the notice of proposed review in the Texas Register.
The filing of the notice of proposed review soliciting comments as to whether the reasons for adoption continue to exist would not preclude any amendments that may be proposed at different dates through a separate rulemaking process.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The Texas student assessment program provides Texas students, schools, and the public with an accurate gauge of students' academic progress in learning the key components of the state-mandated curriculum.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: None.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: None.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
Staff Members Responsible:
Penny Schwinn, Deputy Commissioner
Academics
Mariana Vassileva, Deputy Director
Assessment Operations and Administration
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF, 69KB)
II. Text of 19 TAC Chapter 101, Assessment, Subchapter A, General Provisions, Subchapter B, Implementation of Assessments, and Subchapter C, Local Option (PDF, 31KB)