I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 408 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to award 
grants to States to improve delivery of high-quality assessments, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 20, 2015 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself and Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to award grants to States to improve delivery 
of high-quality assessments, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Support Making As-
sessments Reliable and Timely Act’’ or the ‘‘SMART 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ACCOUNTABILITY. 
Subpart 1 of part A of title VI of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7301 
et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 6111. GRANTS TO IMPROVE DELIVERY OF HIGH-QUAL-
ITY ASSESSMENTS AND FOR RELATED AC-
TIVITIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount reserved 
under section 6114(b)(5) and subject to subparagraphs 
(A) and (B) of such section, the Secretary shall make 
grants by allocating funds in accordance with subsection 
(b) of this section to States to enable the States to— 
‘‘(1) develop, administer, and further align 
State assessments required by section 1111(b)(3) to 
State 
content 
standards 
required 
by 
section 
1111(b)(1); 
‘‘(2) ensure the provision of appropriate accom-
modations as required by section 1111(b)(3)(C)(ix) 
to students with limited English proficiency and stu-
dents with disabilities to improve the rates of inclu-
sion in State assessments of such students; 
‘‘(3) develop State assessment systems aligned 
to the State’s content standards that support sys-
tems of continuous improvement; 
‘‘(4) support local educational agencies in iden-
tifying uses of assessment data, which may include 
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appropriate use of student assessment data as one 
of multiple measures of student learning for teacher 
and school leader performance and evaluation; and 
‘‘(5) carry out the activities described in the re-
port required under subsection (c). 
‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—From the amount re-
served under section 6114(b)(5), each State shall receive 
an allocation for each fiscal year in an amount equal to— 
‘‘(1) $4,000,000; and 
‘‘(2) with respect to any amounts remaining 
after the allocation is made under paragraph (1), an 
amount that bears the same relationship to such 
total remaining amounts as the number of students 
ages 5 through 17 in the State (as determined by 
the Secretary on the basis of the most recent satis-
factory data) bears to the total number of such stu-
dents in all States. 
‘‘(c) STATE REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 
a State receives a grant under this section, the State shall, 
in consultation with education stakeholders, prepare and 
make publically available a report, that explains how the 
State has used, or will use, the grant to— 
‘‘(1) improve the quality and use of the State’s 
assessment system, including assessments not re-
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quired by section 1111(b)(3), and for related activi-
ties; 
‘‘(2) ensure that all summative assessments 
that are used for accountability purposes are valid 
and reliable, and consistent with relevant, nationally 
recognized professional and technical standards; and 
‘‘(3) improve the use of State assessment data 
by school leaders, educators, and parents, and for 
related activities, such as— 
‘‘(A) disseminating the assessment data in 
an accessible and understandable format for 
educators, parents, and families; 
‘‘(B) decreasing time between admin-
istering such State assessments and releasing 
assessment data; 
‘‘(C) supporting the dissemination of 
promising practices from local educational 
agencies that have successfully used assessment 
data to improve individual student and overall 
school performance; 
‘‘(D) identifying appropriate uses of as-
sessment data, which may include appropriate 
use of student assessment data as one of mul-
tiple measures of student learning for teacher 
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and school leader performance and evaluation; 
and 
‘‘(E) providing professional development on 
assessment and data literacy to teachers and 
school leaders, including on the development 
and effective use of formative and classroom- 
based assessments aligned with State content 
standards. 
‘‘SEC. 6112. GRANTS FOR ASSESSMENT SYSTEM ALIGN-
MENT, QUALITY, AND USE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount reserved 
under section 6114(b)(3), the Secretary shall make grants 
to States to— 
‘‘(1) in the case of a grant awarded under this 
section to a State for the first time— 
‘‘(A) carry out audits of State assessment 
systems and ensure that local educational agen-
cies carry out audits of local assessments under 
subsection (e)(1); 
‘‘(B) prepare and carry out the State plan 
under subsection (e)(6); and 
‘‘(C) award subgrants under subsection (f); 
and 
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‘‘(2) in the case of a grant awarded under this 
section to a State that has previously received a 
grant under this section— 
‘‘(A) carry out the State plan under sub-
section (e)(6); and 
‘‘(B) award subgrants under subsection 
(f). 
‘‘(b) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Each State with an ap-
proved application shall receive a grant amount of not less 
than $2,000,000. 
‘‘(c) REALLOCATION.—If a State chooses not to apply 
to receive a grant under this subsection, or if such State’s 
application under subsection (d) is disapproved by the Sec-
retary, the Secretary shall reallocate such grant amount 
to other States with approved applications. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—A State desiring to receive a 
grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(e) AUDITS OF STATE ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS AND 
LOCAL ASSESSMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 1 
year after a State receives a grant under this section 
for the first time, the State shall— 
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‘‘(A) conduct an audit of the State assess-
ment system; 
‘‘(B) ensure that each local educational 
agency under the State’s jurisdiction and re-
ceiving funds under this Act— 
‘‘(i) conducts an audit of each local 
assessment administered by the local edu-
cational agency; and 
‘‘(ii) submits the results of such audit 
to the State; and 
‘‘(C) report the results of each State and 
local educational agency audit conducted under 
subparagraphs (A) and (B)— 
‘‘(i) in a publicly available format, 
such as a widely accessible online platform; 
and 
‘‘(ii) with appropriate accessibility 
provisions for individuals with disabilities 
and individuals with limited English pro-
ficiency. 
‘‘(2) RESOURCES
FOR
LOCAL
EDUCATIONAL 
AGENCIES.—In carrying out paragraph (1)(B), each 
State shall develop and provide local educational 
agencies with resources, such as guidelines and pro-
tocols, to assist the agencies in conducting and re-
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porting the results of the audit required under such 
paragraph (1)(B). 
‘‘(3) STATE
ASSESSMENT
SYSTEM
DESCRIP-
TION.—An audit of a State assessment system con-
ducted under paragraph (1) shall include a descrip-
tion of each State assessment carried out in the 
State, including— 
‘‘(A) the grade and subject matter as-
sessed; 
‘‘(B) whether the assessment is required 
under section 1111(b)(3); 
‘‘(C) the annual cost to the State edu-
cational agency involved in developing, pur-
chasing, administering, and scoring the assess-
ment; 
‘‘(D) the purpose for which the assessment 
was designed and the purpose for which the as-
sessment is used, including assessments de-
signed to contribute to systems of continuous 
improvement of teaching and learning; 
‘‘(E) the time for disseminating assess-
ment results; 
‘‘(F) a description of how the assessment 
is aligned with the State’s content standards; 
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‘‘(G) a description of any State law or reg-
ulation that established the requirement for the 
assessment; 
‘‘(H) the schedule and calendar for all 
State assessments given; and 
‘‘(I) a description of the State’s policies for 
inclusion of students with limited English pro-
ficiency and students with disabilities. 
‘‘(4) LOCAL
ASSESSMENT
DESCRIPTION.—An 
audit of a local assessment conducted under para-
graph (1) shall include a description of the local as-
sessment carried out by the local educational agency, 
including— 
‘‘(A) the descriptions listed in subpara-
graphs (A), (D), and (E) of paragraph (3); 
‘‘(B) the annual cost to the local edu-
cational agency of developing, purchasing, ad-
ministering, and scoring the assessment; 
‘‘(C) the extent to which the assessment is 
aligned to the State’s content standards; 
‘‘(D) a description of any State or local 
law or regulation that establishes the require-
ment for the assessment; and 
‘‘(E) in the case of a summative assess-
ment that is used for accountability purposes, 
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whether the assessment is valid and reliable and 
consistent with nationally recognized profes-
sional and technical standards. 
‘‘(5) STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK.—Each audit of 
a State assessment system or local assessment sys-
tem conducted under subparagraph (A) or (B) of 
paragraph (1) shall include feedback on such system 
from education stakeholders, which shall cover infor-
mation such as— 
‘‘(A) how educators and administrators use 
assessment data to improve and differentiate 
instruction; 
‘‘(B) the timing of release of assessment 
data; 
‘‘(C) the extent to which assessment data 
is presented in an accessible and understand-
able format for educators, parents, students, if 
appropriate, and the community; 
‘‘(D) the opportunities, resources, and 
training educators and administrators are given 
to review assessment results and make effective 
use of assessment data; 
‘‘(E) the distribution of technological re-
sources and personnel necessary to administer 
assessments; 
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‘‘(F) the amount of time educators spend 
on test preparation; 
‘‘(G) the assessments that administrators, 
educators, parents, and students, if appropriate, 
do and do not find useful; 
‘‘(H) the amount of time students spend 
taking the assessments; and 
‘‘(I) other information as appropriate. 
‘‘(6) STATE PLAN ON AUDIT FINDINGS.— 
‘‘(A) PREPARING THE STATE PLAN.—Not 
later than 6 months after a State conducts an 
audit under paragraph (1) and based on the re-
sults of such audit, the State shall, in coordina-
tion with the local educational agencies under 
the jurisdiction of the State, prepare and sub-
mit to the Secretary, a plan to improve and 
streamline State assessment systems and local 
assessment systems, including through activities 
such as— 
‘‘(i) eliminating any assessments that 
are not required by section 1111(b)(3) 
(such as by buying out the remainder of 
procurement contracts with assessment de-
velopers) and that— 
‘‘(I) are low-quality; 
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‘‘(II) not aligned to the State’s 
content standards; 
‘‘(III) in the case of summative 
assessments used for accountability 
purposes, are not valid or reliable and 
are inconsistent with nationally recog-
nized 
professional 
and 
technical 
standards; 
‘‘(IV) do not contribute to sys-
tems of continuous improvement for 
teaching and learning; or 
‘‘(V) are redundant; 
‘‘(ii) supporting the dissemination of 
promising practices from local educational 
agencies or other States that have success-
fully improved assessment quality and effi-
ciency to improve teaching and learning; 
‘‘(iii) supporting local educational 
agencies or consortia of local educational 
agencies to carry out efforts to streamline 
local assessment systems and implementing 
a regular process of review and evaluation 
of assessment use in local educational 
agencies; 
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‘‘(iv) supporting appropriate uses of 
assessment data, which may include appro-
priate use of student assessment data as 
one of multiple measures of student learn-
ing for teacher and school leader perform-
ance and evaluation; and 
‘‘(v) providing professional develop-
ment to teachers and school leaders on se-
lecting and implementing formative assess-
ments, designing classroom-based assess-
ments, and assessment and data literacy. 
‘‘(B) CARRY
OUT
THE
STATE
PLAN.—A 
State shall carry out a State plan as soon as 
practicable after the State prepares such State 
plan under subparagraph (A) and during each 
grant period of a grant described in subsection 
(a)(2) that is awarded to the State. 
‘‘(f) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN-
CIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount awarded 
to a State under this section, the State shall reserve 
not less than 20 percent of funds to make subgrants 
to local educational agencies in the State, or a con-
sortium of such local educational agencies, based on 
demonstrated need in the agency’s or consortium’s 
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application to improve assessment quality, use, and 
alignment with the State’s content standards. 
‘‘(2) LOCAL
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY
APPLICA-
TION.—Each local educational agency, or consortium 
of local educational agencies, seeking a subgrant 
under this subsection shall submit an application to 
the State at such time, in such manner, and describ-
ing that agency’s or consortium’s needs to improve 
assessment quality, use, and alignment (as described 
in paragraph (1)), and such other information as de-
termined by the State. 
‘‘(3) USE
OF
FUNDS.—A subgrant awarded 
under this subsection to a local educational agency 
or consortium of such agencies may be used to— 
‘‘(A) conduct an audit of local assessments 
under subsection (e)(1)(B); 
‘‘(B) eliminate any assessments identified 
for elimination by such audit, such as by buying 
out the remainder of procurement contracts 
with assessment developers; 
‘‘(C) disseminate the promising practices 
described in subsection (e)(6)(B); 
‘‘(D) improve the capacity of school leaders 
and educators to disseminate assessment data 
in an accessible and understandable format for 
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parents and families, including for individuals 
with disabilities or individuals with limited 
English proficiency; 
‘‘(E) support the appropriate use of assess-
ment data, which may include appropriate use 
of student assessment data as one of multiple 
measures of student learning for teacher and 
school leader performance and evaluation; 
‘‘(F) provide professional development to, 
and time for teacher collaboration on designing 
classroom-based assessments and improving as-
sessments and data literacy for, teachers and 
school leaders, which may include providing ad-
ditional planning time to analyze student and 
team data and designing instruction based on 
data analysis; 
‘‘(G) improve assessment delivery systems 
and schedules, including by increasing access to 
technology and exam proctors, where appro-
priate; 
‘‘(H) hire instructional coaches, or pro-
moting educators who may receive increased 
compensation to serve as instructional coaches, 
to support educators to develop classroom-based 
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assessments, interpret assessment data, and de-
sign instruction; and 
‘‘(I) provide for appropriate assessment ac-
commodations to maximize inclusion of students 
with disabilities and students with limited 
English proficiency, including by providing the 
assessments described in section 1111(b)(6). 
‘‘SEC. 6113. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 
‘‘From 
the 
amount 
reserved 
under 
section 
6114(b)(4), the Secretary shall provide technical assist-
ance to States to improve State understanding of existing 
flexibility in design and implementation of high-quality, 
streamlined State assessment systems to meet the require-
ments of section 1111(b)(3), including by— 
‘‘(1) informing States of innovative designs in 
State assessment systems that meet the require-
ments of section 1111(b)(3); 
‘‘(2) providing technical assistance to States on 
including appropriate assessment design and accom-
modation strategies that meet the requirements of 
section 1111(b)(3) and provide for inclusion of all 
students in State assessments; 
‘‘(3) providing technical assistance to States 
conducting audits of State assessment systems 
under section 6112(e), including by providing re-
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sources such as templates and guidelines for data 
collection and for making audit results publicly 
available; 
‘‘(4) conducting Departmental review of exist-
ing regulation and guidance for any language that 
unnecessarily confuses or inhibits innovation and 
flexibility in assessment design and implementation, 
and making revisions where needed, consistent with 
the requirements of section 1111(b)(3); 
‘‘(5) collecting information on State develop-
ment of new and innovative assessment systems that 
meet the requirements of section 1111(b)(3); and 
‘‘(6) reporting on such new and innovative as-
sessment systems to the Committee on Education 
and the Workforce of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions of the Senate. 
‘‘SEC. 6114. FUNDING. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL 
PROGRESS.—For the purpose of administering the 
State assessments under the National Assessment of 
Educational Progress, there are authorized to be ap-
propriated $72,000,000 for fiscal year 2016, and 
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such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 
succeeding fiscal years. 
‘‘(2) STATE ASSESSMENTS AND RELATED AC-
TIVITIES.—For the purpose of carrying out this sub-
part, there are authorized to be appropriated 
$600,000,000 for fiscal year 2016, and such sums 
as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fis-
cal years. 
‘‘(b) RESERVATION
OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 
From amounts made available for each fiscal year under 
subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) reserve one-half of 1 percent for the Bu-
reau of Indian Affairs; 
‘‘(2) reserve one-half of 1 percent for the out-
lying areas; 
‘‘(3) reserve 20 percent to carry out section 
6112; 
‘‘(4) reserve 3 percent to carry out section 
6113; and 
‘‘(5) reserve the remainder (after reserving 
funds under paragraphs (1) through (4)) to carry 
out section 6111, except that— 
‘‘(A) for any fiscal year for which the 
funds appropriated under subsection (a)(2) of 
this section are equal to or greater than 
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$450,000,000, each State that receives a grant 
under section 6111 shall use the grant to carry 
out paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 
6111(a); and 
‘‘(B) for any fiscal year for which the 
funds appropriated under subsection (a)(2) of 
this section are less than $450,000,000, each 
State that receives a grant under section 6111 
shall only be required to use the grant to carry 
out paragraphs (1) through (3) of section 
6111(a). 
‘‘SEC. 6115. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subpart: 
‘‘(1) LOCAL ASSESSMENT.—The term ‘local as-
sessment’ means an academic assessment carried out 
by a local educational agency that is separate from 
an assessment required by section 1111(b)(3). 
‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.’’. 
Æ 
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