June 2018 Committee on Instruction Item 1

June 15, 2018

COMMITTEE ON INSTRUCTION: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION

SUMMARY: This item presents for second reading and final adoption proposed amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter C, Other Provisions, §74.24, Credit by Examination, to amend the provisions related to test development and validation. No changes are recommended since approved for first reading.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §7.102(c)(12) and §28.023, as amended by House Bill (HB) 789, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017.

TEC, §7.102(c)(12), authorizes the State Board of Education (SBOE) to establish guidelines for credit by examination.

TEC, §28.023, as amended by HB 789, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, establishes that districts must develop or select for review examinations for acceleration for each primary school grade level and for credit for secondary school academic subjects based on guidelines established by the SBOE.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the proposed amendment is August 27, 2018. Under TEC, §7.102(f), the SBOE must approve the rule action at second reading and final adoption by a vote of two-thirds of its members to specify an effective date earlier than the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. The earlier effective date will allow school districts and assessment providers to have additional time to adequately address requirements outlined in the rule and will ensure continued availability of examinations to school districts.

PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted 19 TAC §74.24 effective September 1, 1996. Section 74.24 was last amended effective November 24, 2015. A discussion item regarding the proposed amendment 19 TAC §74.24 was presented to the Committee on Instruction at the January-February 2018 meeting. The committee requested that staff research the issues involved in the validation of credit by examination assessments and that an item be placed on the April 2018 agenda for first reading and filing authorization. At the April 2018 meeting, the SBOE approved for first reading and filing authorization the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §74.24.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Section 74.24 addresses assessment for acceleration in Kindergarten through Grade 5 and assessment for course credit in Grades 6-12. The rule also outlines general provisions for the administration of credit by examination.

Companion bills HB 2694 and Senate Bill (SB) 1365, passed by the 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, amended the TEC, §28.023, and the requirements for credit and acceleration by examination. Changes to the statute increased the number of testing opportunities a school district must provide each school year. The amended statute also required each school district to approve, to the extent available, at least four examinations for acceleration or for credit for each academic subject. Each examination must satisfy guidelines to be established by the SBOE, and the approved examinations must include College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examinations and College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) examinations. The legislation also reduced the minimum score requirement from 90 percent to 80 percent for a student to accelerate or be awarded credit.

HB 789, passed by the 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, amended TEC, §28.023, and the requirements for credit and acceleration by examination. Changes to statute apply only to Highland Park Independent School District students. The changes require the local board of trustees to establish the minimum score before the beginning of each school year for examinations to be administered during the school year and require that minimum score to apply for at least the entire academic year. The changes limit a minimum score to no greater than the 90th percentile. Texas Education Agency (TEA) determined that no changes to the rule were necessary as a result of HB 789.

Section 74.24 requires that for a school district to administer a district-developed examination for the award of credit for courses with a required end-of-course (EOC) examination, the school district must certify that the examination meets the following criteria: the examination covers all assessable Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills; has not been published and is not publicly available; will only be administered in a secure environment under standardized conditions by a school district or institution of higher education; has been externally validated; is equivalent to state-level EOC assessment instruments in terms of content coverage, item difficulty, and technical quality; yields comparable results for all sub-groups; and is validated against the applicable EOC instrument. The rule also specifies that examinations developed by Texas Tech University and The University of Texas at Austin that do not have a comparable EOC examination must meet all requirements no later than the 2018-2019 school year.

The proposed amendment to §74.24 would eliminate the requirement that examinations developed by Texas Tech University and The University of Texas at Austin that do not have a comparable EOC examination must meet test development and validation requirements no later than the 2018-2019 school year in order to ensure continued availability of examinations to school districts.

The proposed amendment would clarify the development and validation criteria required for examinations for credit for Grades 6-8 and high school in order to ensure that examinations remain available to school districts. The proposed amendment would also establish separate criteria for examinations for credit for courses that have a required state EOC examination and specify that these examinations must have a comparable item difficulty as the relevant state EOC examination as defined by the TEA.

The proposed amendment would require districts or providers of examinations for credit to make public certain information regarding the development of the examinations and certify that the examinations meet the requirements in rule. Additionally, the proposed amendment would require that examinations for credit for courses that do not have a comparable EOC examination must meet test development and validation requirements no later than the 2019-2020 school year in order to ensure continued availability of examinations to school districts.

The proposed amendment was presented as a discussion item to the Committee on Instruction at the January-February 2018 meeting. At the April 2018 SBOE meeting, the board approved for first reading and filing authorization the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §74.24. At the April meeting, the committee requested that TEA post the draft psychometric definitions in order to gather comment regarding the measures. The draft psychometric characteristics are available for review on the TEA website at https://tea.texas.gov/Academics/Learning_Support_and_Programs/Credit_by….

Attachment II presents the text of the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §74.24 for consideration by the SBOE for second reading and final adoption. No changes are recommended since approved for first reading.

FISCAL IMPACT: The TEA has determined that there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed amendment. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses, microbusinesses, or rural communities; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required. There is no effect on local economy for the first five years that the proposed amendment is in effect; therefore, no local employment impact statement is required under Texas Government Code, §2001.022. The proposed amendment does not impose a cost on regulated persons, another state agency, a special district, or a local government and, therefore, is not subject to Texas Government Code, §2001.0045.

GOVERNMENT GROWTH IMPACT:  TEA staff prepared a Government Growth Impact Statement assessment for this proposed rulemaking. During the first five years the proposed rulemaking would be in effect, it would not create or eliminate a government program; would not require the creation of new employee positions or elimination of existing employee positions; would not require an increase or decrease in future legislative appropriations to the agency; would not require an increase or decrease in fees paid to the agency; would not create a new regulation; would not expand, limit, or repeal an existing regulation; would not increase or decrease the number of individuals subject to its applicability; and would not positively or adversely affect the state's economy.

PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The proposed amendment would give students additional options and test administration opportunities for examinations for acceleration and credit by examination.

PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The proposed amendment would have no new procedural and reporting requirements.

LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: The proposed amendment would have no new locally maintained paperwork requirements.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Following the April 2018 SBOE meeting, notice of the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §74.24 was filed with the Texas Register, initiating the public comment period. A summary of public comments received regarding the proposal will be provided to the SBOE prior to and during the June 2018 meeting.

ALTERNATIVES: None.

OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: Discussion of annual audit reports for credit by
examination from Texas Tech University and The University of Texas at Austin is presented as a  separate item in this agenda.

MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:

Approve for second reading and final adoption the proposed amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter C, Other Provisions, §74.24, Credit by Examination; and Make an affirmative finding that immediate adoption of the proposed amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter C, Other Provisions, §74.24, Credit by Examination, is necessary and shall have an effective date of August 27, 2018. (Per TEC, §7.102(f), a vote of two-thirds of the members of the board is necessary for an earlier effective date.)

 
Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Support Services

Shelly Ramos, Senior Director
Curriculum Standards and Student Support

Attachments:

I.  Statutory Citations (PDF, 22 KB)
II. Text of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter C, Other Provisions, §74.24, Credit by Examination  (PDF, 33 KB)