Improvements to formula grants for creating and implementing high-quality and innovative assessments

Section 6111 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7301) is amended— (1)by striking The Secretary and inserting the following:

(a)

In general

The Secretary

;

(2)by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

(1)to pay the costs of the development of the additional State assessments and standards required by section 1111(b), which may include the costs of working in voluntary partnerships with other States, at the sole discretion of each such State, and which may also include— (A)partnering with institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations to design and implement high-quality and innovative assessments, including performance assessments, technology-based assessments, through-course assessments, adaptive assessments, and appropriate assessments for students with disabilities and English language learners; (B)aligning high-quality and innovative assessments with the common core standards or State challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards; (C)partnering with institutions of higher education and other nonprofit entities with experience in high-quality professional development to train teachers and principals in— (i)how to design balanced assessment systems that include summative, interim, and formative assessments; (ii)how to effectively embed high-quality and innovative assessments in classroom instruction; (iii)how to interpret the data generated by multiple types of assessments; and (iv)how to use the data generated by assessments to improve student achievement; (D)designing and implementing alternative assessments that are fair, valid, and reliable for students with disabilities and English language learners; (E)developing scoring mechanisms that enable high-quality and innovative assessments to be scored in such a way as to produce fair, valid, reliable, and comparable results for all students; (F)integrating the use of technology in both the design, implementation, and scoring of assessments; (G)implementing assessment systems that use multiple sources of evidence collected throughout the course of a school year for the purposes of calculating adequate yearly progress under section 1111(b)(2)(C); and (H)collaborating with other State educational agencies to share information and best practices about assessment design and implementation; and

; and

(3)in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following:

(I)Developing and administering formative and interim assessments to help measure student growth, improve classroom instruction, and provide timely feedback to teachers, principals, and parents during the academic year.

Competitive grants for creating and implementing innovative assessments

(a)

In general

Section 6112 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7301a) is amended to read as follows:

6112.

Competitive grants for creating and implementing innovative assessments

(a)

Purposes

The purposes of this section are as follows: (1)To provide additional resources to States and State educational agencies so that accountability decisions about students and schools are based on well-designed multiple measures rather than 1 high stakes standardized test. (2)To assist States, State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and schools in the design and implementation of high-quality and innovative assessments, including technology-based assessments, adaptive assessments, formative assessments, performance assessments, standardized portfolio assessments, interim assessments, appropriate assessments for students with disabilities and English language learners, through-course assessments, and other assessments that measure higher-order thinking skills and are aligned with common core standards or State challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards, in order to create multiple measures that— (A)are used for Federal and State accountability purposes; (B)improve classroom instruction; and (C)provide timely and meaningful feedback to students, teachers, principals, and parents. (b)

Definitions

In this section: (1)

Adaptive assessment

The term adaptive assessment means an assessment in which questions are administered to students based on the students’ answers to previous questions both on and out of grade level. (2)

Eligible entity

The term eligible entity means— (A)a consortium of States; (B)a State educational agency; (C)a consortium of local education agencies; or (D)a local education agency. (3)

Formative assessment

The term formative assessment means an assessment that— (A)is integrated into classroom instruction; (B)produces evidence about student learning and achievement in a timely manner; and (C)provides students and teachers with meaningful feedback so that teachers can modify, improve, and target instructional strategies based on individual student need, and so that teachers and students can assess the students' academic growth. (4)

Interim assessment

The term interim assessment means an assessment that— (A)is given at regular and specified intervals throughout the school year; (B)is designed to evaluate students’ knowledge and skills relative to a specific set of academic standards; and (C)produces results that can be aggregated by course, grade level, school, or local educational agency in order to inform students, teachers, and administrators at the student, classroom, school, and local educational agency levels. (5)

Multiple measures

The term multiple measures means evidence gained from different forms of assessment that offer all students various ways to fairly, validly, and reliable demonstrate academic achievement and academic growth. (6)

Performance assessment

The term performance assessment means an assessment that measures the ability of students to apply knowledge and skills, and demonstrate achievement through performance-based tasks. (7)

Standardized portfolio assessment

The term standardized portfolio assessment means an assessment that accumulates the same types of student work, created under similar conditions across all schools within a State, to use as formative or summative evidence of student academic progress. (8)

Technology-based assessment

The term technology-based assessment means an assessment that utilizes technology such as computers in the development, administration, and scoring of the assessment. (9)

Through-course assessment

The term through-course assessment means an assessment system or component or set of assessment system components that is administered periodically during the academic year, in which a student’s results are combined to produce the student’s total summative assessment score for such academic year. (10)

Universal design for learning

The term universal design for learning means a scientifically valid framework for guiding educational practice that— (A)provides flexibility in the ways information is presented, in the ways students respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the ways students are engaged; and (B)reduces barriers in instruction, provides appropriate accommodations, supports, and challenges, and maintains high achievement expectations for all students, including students with disabilities and students who are English language learners. (c)

Grants authorized

The Secretary is authorized to award grants to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to carry out the authorized activities described in subsection (d). (d)

Authorized activities

(1)

In general

An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use the funds made available under this section for the design or implementation of high-quality and innovative assessments in local classrooms, including— (A)partnering with institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations to design, test, and implement assessments in classrooms; (B)aligning the assessments with common core standards or State challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards under section 1111(b)(1); (C)partnering with institutions of higher education, local educational agencies, and nonprofit organizations that provide high-quality professional development to train teachers and principals in— (i)how to utilize the assessments described in subsection (a)(2) in the teachers' classrooms; (ii)how to interpret the data generated by these assessments; and (iii)how to use the data generated by these assessments to improve student achievement; (D)designing achievement reports that— (i)detail assessment results, including student achievement and student-level and school-level growth; (ii)are desegregated by student subgroups listed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); and (iii)can be used to inform classroom instruction and provide parents and the community with timely information on student-level and school-level progress; (E)designing and implementing alternative assessments that are fair, valid, and reliable for students with disabilities and English language learners; (F)developing scoring mechanisms that enable the assessments to be scored in such a way as to produce fair, valid, reliable, and comparable results for all students; (G)integrating the use of technology in both the design, implementation, and scoring of assessments; (H)collaborating with other eligible entities to share information and best practices about assessment development and implementation across the States; and (I)implementing assessment systems that use multiple measures collected throughout the course of a school year for purposes of calculating school-level and district-level achievement in Federal and State accountability systems. (2)

Requirements

Assessments designed or implemented with funds provided under this section shall— (A)be aligned with common core standards or State challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards under section 1111(b)(1); (B)be capable of measuring student academic growth and achievement of State challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards; (C)be fair, valid, reliable, and capable of producing comparable and disaggregated results for all students, including all the student subgroups identified under section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II); (D)be able to measure readiness for college or the workplace; (E)use scoring mechanisms that enable the assessments to be scored in such a way as to produce fair, valid, reliable, and comparable results for all students; (F)incorporate principles of universal design for learning; (G)produce evidence about student learning and achievement in a timely manner; and (H)provide teachers with meaningful feedback so that the teachers can modify, improve, and target instructional strategies based on individual student need. (3)

Restrictions

Grant funds received under this section— (A)shall be used only for the authorized activities described under this subsection; and (B)may not be used for the purchase or development of high stakes, large scale assessments or for test preparation materials for high stakes testing. (e)

Other Eligible partner entities

(1)

In general

Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this section, upon receipt of the grant funds, may partner with an entity described in paragraph (2), in order to carry out the activities assisted under the grant. (2)

Partner Entities

A partner entity referred to in paragraph (1) is— (A)an institution of higher education; or (B)a nonprofit entity with experience in designing high-quality and innovative assessments. (f)

Application

To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including, at a minimum— (1)a proposal to use the grant funds to design or implement the assessments and assessment systems described in subsection (a)(2); (2)a description of how the eligible entity plans to ensure that teachers and principals are provided meaningful and effective professional development in the use of such assessments in the teachers' and principals' classrooms and schools, including how to interpret and utilize data generated from the assessments to improve student learning and outcomes; (3)a description of how the eligible entity plans to assess the effectiveness of the assessments and assessment systems in raising student achievement and narrowing the achievement gap among the State’s student population; (4)a description of how the eligible entity plans to ensure that the assessments and assessment systems will be used to improve teaching and provide detailed and timely feedback to students and parents; and (5)a description of how the eligible entity plans to ensure that there is a transparent and fair process for scoring assessments designed or implemented with funds provided under this section so that scores are accurate, valid, and reliable. (g)

Duration

A grant under this section shall be awarded for a period of not more than 3 fiscal years. (h)

Award considerations

In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall select eligible entities that demonstrate the greatest need for the grants and the greatest potential benefit from receipt of the grants. (i)

Report and evaluation

(1)

State reports

Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall submit— (A)an annual report to the Secretary detailing how the eligible entity is using the grant funds and detailing ongoing evaluation of— (i)the design of the assessments assisted under this section; (ii)the training of educators in using the assessments; (iii)the effectiveness of the assessments as measured by student achievement and growth based on multiple measures; and (iv)the reliability and validity of the scoring process for the assessments; (B)a comprehensive 3-year report at the end of the 3-year grant period including a detailed analysis of— (i)how the grant funds were used; and (ii)the impact of the grant on student achievement, narrowing the achievement gap, and the quality of teaching, based on multiple measures. (2)

Federal evaluation and report

Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of the Improving Student Testing Act of 2010, the Secretary shall— (A)develop and execute a plan for evaluating the assessments assisted under this section and section 6111 and the strategies financed under this section; and (B)submit a report to Congress detailing— (i)how eligible entities used the grant funds provided under this section; (ii)the impact of the grants on student achievement and teaching in the States; and (iii)any recommendations for improvements that can be made to the grant programs under this section and section 6111. (j)

Authorization of appropriations

In addition to the amounts authorized to be appropriated under section 6113(b)(2), there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015.

(b)

Table of contents

The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by striking the item relating to section 6112 and inserting the following:

Sec. 6112. Competitive grants for creating and implementing innovative assessments.

(c)

Ending taxpayer subsidies for exporters

(1)

In general

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall develop and implement a program to impose fees on businesses that benefit from the trade promotion activities of the International Trade Administration. (2)

Budget neutrality

The fees shall be imposed in an amount that ensures that any Federal expenditures on trade promotion activities of the International Trade Administration are offset by the fees collected under the program in a budget neutral manner.