(1) (a) The state board, by rule, shall adopt, and revise as necessary, the Colorado growth model, which shall be a student longitudinal academic growth model that is available in the public domain. In adopting and revising the Colorado growth model, the state board shall consider recommendations from the technical advisory panel convened pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.

(b) In adopting and revising the Colorado growth model, the state board shall ensure that the model:

(I) Reflects best practices, as acknowledged in the scientific literature, in measuring student longitudinal academic growth with high precision;

(II) To the greatest extent possible, uses a method that will support the academic improvement of public schools, school districts, and the institute;

(III) Can measure a student's progress toward meeting each of the performance levels identified by state board rule on the statewide assessments;

(IV) Can gauge each student's success in making one year's academic growth or more in one year's time;

(V) Provides results that are meaningful, reliable, and valid, given their intended purposes, to enable parents, teachers, and administrators to identify individual students or groups of students who are or are not making adequate academic growth;

(VI) Recognizes the improvement of a student whose scores on the statewide assessments increase even if the increase is not sufficient for the student to attain a higher performance level;

(VII) Uses individual student scores achieved on the statewide assessments;

(VIII) Is described in a publicly available document that sets forth the mathematical equations used in the model and that fully and accurately explains the methods used to complete the records for students with incomplete data; and

(IX) Can treat the analysis and reporting ofdata electronically and produces student, public school, school district, institute, and state reports that the department provides to school districts, the institute, public schools, and the public through the data portal.

(c) Repealed.

(2) (a) To assist the department in implementing the Colorado growth model, the commissioner shall appoint a technical advisory panel of state and national experts on the longitudinal measurement of academic growth for accountability purposes. The members of the technical advisory panel shall serve at the will of the commissioner and shall not receive compensation or reimbursement for expenses.

(b) The department shall convene meetings of the technical advisory panel as necessary and within existing appropriations to review the Colorado growth model and make recommendations to the state board. All meetings of the technical advisory panel shall be open.

(c) The department and the state board shall consult with the technical advisory panel concerning:

(I) The scores on the kindergarten and first, second, and third grade reading assessments approved pursuant to section 22-7-1209 (1)(b) that will identify, as required in section 22-7-1209 (1)(a), the minimum reading competency skill levels in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency, including oral skills, and reading comprehension for kindergarten and first, second, and third grades;

(II) The amount of additional credit toward accreditation that each local education provider may receive pursuant to section 22-11-204 (3)(b); and

(III) Methods of including in the accreditation process consideration of student progress in attaining reading competency, as defined in section 22-7-1203 (10), in kindergarten and first and second grade.