Improving Student Testing Act of 2007

Bill: 110-s-2053
Sponsor: Sen. Feingold, Russell D. [D-WI]
Introduced: 2007-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance
Administrative fees
Administrative procedure
Appropriations
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Congressional reporting requirements
Data banks
Department of Education
Disabled
Dropouts
Economics and Public Finance
Education of the disadvantaged
Educational accountability
Educational innovations
Educational research
Educational statistics
Educational tests
Elementary and secondary education
Elementary education
English language
Federal aid to education
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Foreign trade promotion
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Identification devices
Literacy programs
Minorities
Minority education
Right of privacy
Science, Technology, Communications
Secondary education
Social Welfare
Special education

Summary:
action_date: 2007-09-17
text: 
Improving Student Testing Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to use academic indicators other than statewide standardized assessments in determining whether schools need improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. (Currently, such indicators may not be used to reduce the number of schools requiring such interventions.) 
 
Permits states to use growth or hybrid growth and status models in determining whether students are making adequate progress toward state standards. Requires growth models and the growth portion of hybrid models to: (1) use statewide education data systems capable of tracking individual student growth; and (2) assess students annually in grades 3 through 8, and once in grades 9 through 12.
 
Allows states to alter their current assessment systems by: (1) conducting statewide assessments less frequently, but at least once in grades 3 through 5, 6 through 9, and 10 through 12; or (2) using multiple measures of assessments instead of, or in addition to, statewide standardized assessments.
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to states to implement certain privacy protection measures for statewide education data systems. 
 
Waives the requirement that all students meet state academic proficiency standards by the end of the 2013-2014 school year if, for each of FY2008-FY2015, school improvement funds appropriated do not match those authorized.
 
Makes changes to the state education improvement plan peer review process that involve the composition of peer review panels, the feedback they provide, and the consistency of their decisions from state to state.
 
Requires states to disaggregate high school graduation rates by student subgroups. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states to disaggregate and report student graduation and performance data.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to: (1) states to develop multiple measures of assessment, rather than one standardized test; and (2) states and local educational agencies to improve their capacity to implement alternative accountability and assessment systems and meet school improvement requirements.
 
Directs the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce to eliminate federal spending on trade promotion activities by imposing fees on promotion beneficiaries.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2007-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2007-09-17
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S11589-11592)
action_date: 2007-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate