An Act To Simplify Implementation of the Maine Learning Results
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1424
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: CUMMINGS, FAIRCLOTH, FINCH, MOODY, PERCY, BRENNAN
Amends: 20-A MRSA §4722, 20-A MRSA §6202-A, 20-A MRSA §6202-B

Legislative Document 
No. 1424 
H.P.988 
House of Representatives, March 22, 2005 
An Act To Simplify Implementation of the Maine Learning Results 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative CUMMINGS of Portland. 
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/J7.7JJ~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: FAIRCLOTH of Bangor, FINCH of Fairfield, MOODY of 
Manchester, PERCY of Phippsburg, Senator: BRENNAN of Cumberland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §4722, sub-§3, as amended by PL 200L c. 
454, §24 and PL 2003, c. 545, §6, is further amended to read: 
3. 
Satisfactory completion. 
A diploma may be awarded only 
to secondary school students who have satisfactorily completed 
all 
diploma 
requirements 
in 
accordance 
with 
the 
academic 
standards of the school administrative unitT andL 
effective with 
the class of 2007, with the requirements specified in section 
a6G6-A 
6202-B, 
subsection 
or 
5. 
Career 
and 
technical 
students may, with the approval of the commissioner, satisfy the 
2nd-year math and science, the 2nd-year social studies and the 
fine 
arts 
requirements 
of 
subsection 
through 
separate 
or 
integrated 
study 
within 
the 
career 
and 
technical 
school 
curriculum. 
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §6202-A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 712, 
§2, is repealed. 
Sec.3. 20-A MRSA §6202-B is enacted to read: 
§6202-B. 
Local assessment system: core of learning results 
Each school administrative unit shall establish a 
local 
assessment system to measure student achievement of the core of 
the 
learning 
results 
established 
in 
section 
6209. 
Local 
assessments 
may 
include 
portfolios, 
performances 
and 
demonstrations in addition to other measures 
of 
achievement. 
Commercially produced assessment tools may be part of a local 
assessment system but may not carry a majority of the weight in 
determining student performance. 
1. 
Definitions. 
As 
used 
in this 
section, 
unless 
the 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, 
the 
following 
terms 
have 
the 
following meanings. 
A. 
"Common assessment" means an assessment process in which 
all students engage. 
"Common assessment" includes: 
(1) 
Assessment tasks with similar scoring tools; 
(2) 
Similar scoring tools and assessment activities; or 
(3) 
Similar scoring tools. assessment activities and 
learning activities. 
B. 
"Core of the learning results" means math. reading and 
writing. 
Page l-LR1692(1} 
2. 
Kindergarten to grade 8. 
Proficiency in the core of the 
learning results in kindergarten and grade one to grade 8 must be 
measured annually by 
a 
locally developed, 
curriculum-embedded 
common assessment. 
3. 
Grade 9 to grade 12. 
Proficiency in the core of the 
learning results in grade 9 to grade 12 must be measured 5 times 
in 4 years by a locally developed, 
curriculum embedded common 
assessment. The assessments may be interdisciplinary. 
4. 
Public 
high 
school 
graduation 
decisions. 
By 
the 
2007 2008 
school year, 
public high school graduation must be 
determined by student achievement of the core of the learning 
results 
based 
on 
the 
school 
administrative 
unit's 
local 
assessment 
system 
established 
pursuant 
to 
this 
section 
in 
addition to other reg;uirements as established by school board 
policy. 
5. 
Graduation decisions at certain private high schools. By 
the 2007 2008 school year, high school graduation for publicly 
funded students in private schools approved for tuition that 
enroll at least 60°'0 publicly funded students, as determined by 
the previous school year's October and April average enrollment, 
must be determined by student achievement of the core of the 
learning results in addition to other reg;uirements that may be 
established by the trustees. 
Sec. 4. Department of Education; rules; training. 
The Department 
of Education shall adopt routine technical rules pursuant to the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A to 
implement this Act. The department shall develop and facilitate 
training and professional 
devel~ment for educators to enable 
them to gather and analyze data pertaining to local assessments 
and to make 
changes in instruction to accommodate 
the local 
assessments provided for in this Act. 
Sec. 5. Effective date. Those sections of this Act that repeal 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 6202-A and enact 
Title 20-A, section 6202-B take effect January 1, 2006. 
SUMMARY 
This bill simplifies implementation of the learning results 
and provides for local assessments of reading, writing and math, 
the core principles of the learning results.