II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2348

To provide for fairness and accuracy in student testing.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 4, 2000

Mr. WELLSTONE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To provide for fairness and accuracy in student testing.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FAIRNESS AND ACCURACY IN STUDENT TEST4 ING.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

6 (1) The use of large-scale achievement tests in

7 education has grown significantly in recent years.

8 States and local school districts have increasingly

9 used these tests in such contexts as raising student

10 academic standards to make high-stakes decisions

11 with important consequences for individual students,

12 such as tracking (assigning students to schools, pro-
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1 grams, or classes based on achievement level), pro2 motion of students to the next grade, and gradua3 tion of students from secondary school.

4 (2) The serious and often adverse consequences

5 resulting from the sole or determinative reliance on

6 large-scale tests have increasingly resulted in ques7 tions and significant concerns by students, parents,

8 teachers, and school administrators about how to en9 sure that such tests are used appropriately and in

10 a manner that is fair.

11 (3) In 1997, Congress directed the National

12 Academy of Sciences to ‘‘conduct a study and make

13 written recommendations on appropriate methods,

14 practices, and safeguards to ensure that, among

15 other things,... existing and new tests that are used

16 to assess student performance are not used in a dis17 criminatory manner or inappropriately for student

18 promotion, tracking, or graduation.’’.

19 (4) In 1999, the National Academy of Sciences,

20 through its National Research Council, completed its

21 study and issued a report entitled ‘‘High Stakes:

22 Testing for Tracking, Promotion and Graduation’’.

23 Guided by principles of measurement validity, attri24 bution of cause, and effectiveness of treatment, the

25 National Research Council made key findings for ap-
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1 propriate test use in educational settings, including

2 the following:

3 (A) When tests are used in ways that meet

4 relevant psychometric, legal, and educational

5 standards, students’ scores provide important

6 information, that combined with information

7 from other sources, can lead to decisions that

8 promote student learning and equality of oppor9 tunity.

10 (B) Tests are not perfect. Test questions

11 are a sample of possible questions that could be

12 asked in a given area. Moreover, a test score is

13 not an exact measure of a student’s knowledge

14 or skills.

15 (C) To the extent that all students are ex16 pected to meet world-class standards, there is a

17 need to provide world-class curricula and in18 struction to all students. However, in most of

19 the Nation, much needs to be done before a

20 world-class curriculum and world-class instruc21 tion will be in place. At present, curriculum

22 does not usually place sufficient emphasis on

23 student understanding and application of con24 cepts, as opposed to memorization and skill

25 mastery. In addition, instruction in core sub-
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1 jects typically has been and remains highly

2 stratified. What teachers teach and what stu3 dents learn vary widely by track, with those in

4 lower tracks receiving far less than a world5 class curriculum.

6 (D) Problems of test validity are greatest

7 among young children, and there is a greater

8 risk of error when such tests are employed to

9 make significant decisions about children who

10 are less than 8 years old or below grade 3, or

11 about their schools. However, well-designed as12 sessments may be useful in monitoring trends

13 in the educational development of populations

14 of students who have reached age 5.

15 (5) The National Research Council made the

16 following recommendations:

17 (A) If parents, educators, public officials,

18 and others who share responsibility for edu19 cational outcomes are to discharge their respon20 sibility effectively, they should have access to

21 information about the nature and interpretation

22 of tests and test scores. Such information

23 should be made available to the public and

24 should be incorporated into teacher education
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1 and into educational programs for principals,

2 administrators, public officials, and others.

3 (B) A test may appropriately be used to

4 lead curricular reform, but it should not also be

5 used to make high-stakes decisions about indi6 vidual students until test users can show that

7 the test measures what they have been taught.

8 (C) High-stakes decisions such as tracking,

9 promotion, and graduation should not automati10 cally be made on the basis of a single test score

11 but should be buttressed by other relevant in12 formation about the student’s knowledge and

13 skill, such as grades, teacher recommendations,

14 and extenuating circumstances.

15 (D) In general, large-scale assessments

16 should not be used to make high-stakes deci17 sions about students who are less than 8 years

18 old or enrolled below grade 3.

19 (E) High-stakes testing programs should

20 routinely include a well-designed evaluation

21 component. Policymakers should monitor both

22 the intended and unintended consequences of

23 high-stake assessments on all students and on

24 significant subgroups of students, including mi-
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1 norities, English-language learners, and stu2 dents with disabilities.

3 (6) These principles and findings of the Na4 tional Academy of Sciences are supported in signifi5 cant measure by the Standards for Educational and

6 Psychological Testing, adopted and approved in De7 cember of 1999, by the leading experts and profes8 sional organizations on testing, including the Amer9 ican Educational Research Association, American

10 Psychological Association, and the National Council

11 on Measurement in Education.

12 (b) TEST PERFORMANCE.—If performance on a

13 standardized test is considered as part of any decision

14 about the retention, graduation, tracking, or within-class

15 ability grouping of an individual student by a State edu16 cational agency or local educational agency that receives

17 funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

18 of 1965, such test performance shall not be the sole deter19 minant in such decision and may be considered in making

20 such decision only if—

21 (1) the test meets professional standards of va22 lidity and reliability for the purpose for which the

23 test’s results are being used, including the validity

24 and reliability of any cut score or performance

25 standard set or established for use on the test;
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1 (2) the test allows its users to make score inter2 pretations in relation to a functional performance

3 level, as distinguished from those interpretations

4 that are made in relation to the performance of oth5 ers, is based on State or local content and perform6 ance standards, and is aligned with the curriculum

7 and classroom instruction;

8 (3) multiple measures of student achievement

9 are utilized, including grades and evaluations by

10 teachers, so that scores from large-scale assessments

11 are never the only source of information used nor

12 assigned determinative weight in making a high13 stakes decision about an individual student;

14 (4) students tested have been provided multiple

15 opportunities to demonstrate proficiency in the sub16 ject matter covered by the test;

17 (5) the test is administered in accordance with

18 the written guidance from the test developer or pub19 lisher;

20 (6) the State educational agency or local edu21 cational agency has evidence that the test is of ade22 quate technical quality for each purpose for which

23 the test is used;

24 (7) the State educational agency or local edu25 cational agency provides appropriate accommoda-
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1 tions and alternate assessments for students with

2 disabilities that provide the students with a valid op3 portunity to show what they know and can do;

4 (8) the State educational agency or local edu5 cational agency provides appropriate accommoda6 tions for students with limited English proficiency,

7 including—

8 (A) if such a student is tested in English,

9 the student received academic instruction pri10 marily in English for at least 3 years prior to

11 the test, or if the student received instruction in

12 English for more than such 3 years, the local

13 educational agency determines that the student

14 has achieved sufficient English proficiency to

15 ensure that the test will accurately measure the

16 student’s subject matter knowledge and skills;

17 (B) in the case of students with limited

18 English proficiency who have not been taught

19 primarily in English for 3 years prior to the

20 test, such students are assessed, to the greatest

21 extent practicable, in the language and form

22 most likely to yield accurate and reliable infor23 mation about what those students know and

24 can do; and
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1 (C) in the case of Spanish-speaking stu2 dents with limited English proficiency, such

3 students are assessed using tests developed and

4 written in Spanish, if Spanish language tests

5 are more likely than English language tests to

6 yield accurate and reliable information on what

7 those students know and can do; and

8 (9) the test is not used for a decision about

9 promotion or placement in special education for a

10 child below the age of 8 or grade 3.

11 (c) EVALUATIONS.—

12 (1) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—Each

13 State educational agency that receives funds under

14 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

15 1965 and uses a standardized test as part of a high

16 stakes decision described in subsection (b), shall con17 duct a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of the

18 test’s use on students’ education and educational

19 outcomes, with particular consideration given to the

20 impact on individual students and subgroups of stu21 dents disaggregated by socioeconomic status, race,

22 ethnicity, limited English proficiency, disability, and

23 gender. The State educational agency shall make the

24 results of the evaluation available to the public and

25 shall provide clear and comprehensible information
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1 about the nature, use, and interpretation of the test

2 and the scores the test generate.

3 (2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—Each local

4 educational agency that receives funds under the El5 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,

6 uses a standardized test as part of a high stakes de7 cision described in subsection (b), and is located in

8 a State that does not conduct an evaluation under

9 paragraph (1), shall conduct a comprehensive eval10 uation of the impact of the test’s use on students’

11 education and educational outcomes, with particular

12 consideration given to the impact on individual stu13 dents and subgroups of students disaggregated by

14 socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, limited English

15 proficiency, disability, and gender. The local edu16 cational agency shall make the results of the evalua17 tion available to the public and shall provide clear

18 and comprehensible information about the nature,

19 use, and interpretation of the test and the scores the

20 test generate.

21 (3) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.—The Sec22 retary shall—

23 (A) conduct an evaluation similar to the

24 evaluation described in paragraph (1) among a
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1 representative sample of States and local edu2 cational agencies;

3 (B) report the results of such evaluation to

4 Congress; and

5 (C) make the results of the evaluation

6 available to the public.

7 (d) DEFINITION OF STANDARDIZES TEST.—In this

8 section the term ‘‘standardized test’’ means a test that

9 is administered and scored under conditions uniform to

10 all students so that the test scores are comparable across

11 individuals.

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