EK(LEGAL) - TESTING PROGRAMS

Local Achievement Testing

In addition to the state-administered assessment instruments, a district may adopt and administer criterion-referenced or norm-referenced assessment instruments, or both, at any grade level. A locally adopted norm-referenced assessment instrument must be economical, nationally recognized, and state-approved.

For purposes of this provision, "assessment instrument" means a district-commissioned achievement test, either nationally normed or criterion-referenced, that is group administered and reported publicly (such as to a board) in the aggregate.

A company or organization scoring an assessment instrument shall send test results to a district for verification. A district shall have 90 days to verify the accuracy of test data and report the results to the board.

A district shall follow procedures for test security and confidentiality set forth in 19 Administrative Code Chapter 101, Subchapter C. [See EKB]

Education Code 39.026, .032; 19 TAC 101.101

Assessment Instrument Limitations

In any subject area for which a state assessment is administered, a district may not administer locally required assessments designed to prepare students for state assessments to any student on more than ten percent of the instructional days in any school year. A campus-level planning and decision-making committee may limit the administration of locally required assessments to ten percent or a lower percentage of the instructional days in any school year. This prohibition does not apply to the administration of college preparation assessments, advanced placement tests, international baccalaureate examinations, or state assessments. Education Code 39.0262

Benchmark Assessment Instruments

"Benchmark assessment instrument" means a district-required assessment instrument designed to prepare students for a corresponding state-administered assessment instrument.

A district may not administer to any student more than two benchmark assessment instruments to prepare the student for a corresponding state-administered assessment instrument.

This prohibition does not apply to the administration of a college preparation assessment instrument, including the PSAT, the ACT-Plan, the SAT, or the ACT, an advanced placement test, an international baccalaureate examination, or an independent classroom examination designed or adopted and administered by a classroom teacher.

A parent of or person standing in parental relation to a student who has special needs, as determined in accordance with commissioner of education rule, may request administration to the student of additional benchmark assessment instruments.

Education Code 39.0263

Designed to Prepare

For purposes of Education Code 39.0262 and 39.0263, an assessment instrument designed to prepare students for state-administered assessment instruments is an assessment that:

  1. Evaluates students' potential performance relative to the state's blueprint in whole for a state-administered assessment; or
  2. Is primarily focused on test-taking techniques.

This provision does not include an assessment designed to evaluate students' mastery of parts of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills or the efficacy of instructional practice.

19 TAC 101.6003

College Preparation Assessments

Each school year, and at state cost, a district may administer an established, valid, reliable, and nationally norm-referenced preliminary college preparation assessment instrument:

  1. To students in the spring of the eighth grade, for the purpose of diagnosing the academic strengths and deficiencies of students before entrance into high school; and
  2. To students in the tenth grade, for the purpose of measuring a student's progress toward readiness for college and the workplace.

The provisions of Education Code 39.0261(a)(1) and (a)(2), above, apply only if the legislature appropriates funds for those purposes.

Education Code 39.0261(a)(1)–(a)(2), (f)

High school students, in the spring of the eleventh grade or during the twelfth grade, may select and take once, at state cost:

  1. One of the valid, reliable, and nationally norm-referenced assessment instruments used by colleges and universities as part of their undergraduate admissions processes; or
  2. The assessment instrument designated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Education Code 51.334.

A high school student is not prohibited from taking the test more than once, at the student's own expense.

Education Code 39.0261(a)(3), (e)

A district is entitled to reimbursement for the amount of fees paid by the district for the administration of an assessment instrument under Education Code 39.0261(a)(3), above. Education Code 48.155

Homeschooled Students

The following provisions apply to a homeschooled student entitled under Education Code 25.001 to attend school in a district.

A district shall permit a homeschooled student to participate in an administration of the PSAT/NMSQT or a college advanced placement test offered by the district.

"Homeschooled student" means a student who predominantly receives instruction in a general elementary or secondary education program that is provided by the parent, or a person standing in parental authority, in or through the child's home.

Fees

A district shall require a homeschooled student to pay the same fee to participate in such a test that a student enrolled in the district is required to pay.

Notice

A district shall post on an internet website maintained by the district the date the PSAT/NMSQT will be administered and the date any college advanced placement tests will be administered. The notice must state that the PSAT/NMSQT or the advanced placement test is available for homeschooled students eligible to attend school in the district and describe the procedures for a homeschooled student to register for the test.

A district that does not maintain an internet website must publish the notice in a newspaper in the district. If a newspaper is not published in the district, the district shall provide for the publication of notice in at least one newspaper in the county in which the district's central administrative office is located.

The required notice must be posted or published at the same time and with the same frequency with which the information is provided to a student who attends a district school.

Education Code 29.916

Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test

Each school year each school district shall provide students in grades 10 through 12 an opportunity to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test and consult with a military recruiter.

The test must be scheduled:

  1. During normal school hours; and
  2. To optimize student participation, at a time that limits conflicts with extracurricular activities.

Each school district shall provide each student in grades 10 through 12 and the student's parent or person standing in parental relation to the student a notice of the date, time, and location of the scheduled administration of the ASVAB test.

A school district may elect not to provide the ASVAB test only if the district or school provides an alternative test that:

  1. Assesses a student's aptitude for success in a career field other than a career field that requires postsecondary education;
  2. Is free to administer;
  3. Requires minimal training and support of district or school faculty and staff to administer the test; and
  4. Provides the student with a professional interpretation of the test results that allows the student to:
    1. Explore occupations that are consistent with the student's interests and skills; and
    2. Develop strategies to attain the student's career goals.

A school district or high school that, before September 1, 2017, entered into a contract under which a vocational aptitude test that does not comply with the requirements for an alternative test is provided to students in grades 10 through 12, may elect not to provide the ASVAB test for the term of the contract. On the expiration of the contract term, this exemption is not applicable.

Education Code 29.9015

Hallsville ISD

EK(LEGAL)-P

UPDATE 118

DATE ISSUED: 11/9/2021