(1) (a) On or before December 15, 2010, or as soon thereafter as fiscally practicable, the state board shall adopt a system of assessments that are aligned with the preschool through elementary and secondary education standards and are designed to measure students' levels of attainment of the standards and to longitudinally measure students' academic progress toward attaining the standards and toward attaining postsecondary and workforce readiness. In adopting the system of assessments, the state board shall ensure, at a minimum, that the system is designed to:

(I) Provide relevant, timely results that will aid teachers, parents, and students in identifying areas in which students may need additional support or assistance in attaining the standards;

(II) Facilitate and ensure longitudinal measurement of students' academic growth over time;

(III) Provide guidance to teachers, parents, and students in determining whether each student is making the necessary progress toward achieving postsecondary and workforce readiness;

(IV) Provide results that may be used across multiple education systems as a student progresses from preschool through elementary and secondary education and into postsecondary education;

(V) Maintain a high level of accountability across the state for students, schools, and school districts;

(VI) Comply with the requirements of federal law with regard to statewide standardized testing; and

(VII) Provide assessment scores that are useful in measuring student academic performance, the academic performance of a school, and the academic performance of a school district for purposes of state and federal accountability systems.

(b) In adopting a system of assessments, the state board shall give consideration to the use of authentic assessment methods, such as portfolios, projects, and performances, so long as the assessment methods are valid and reliable, employ standard scoring criteria, and align with the preschool through elementary and secondary education standards.

(c) In adopting a system of assessments, the state board shall also adopt scoring criteria for measuring a student's level of attainment of a standard based on the student's performance on a particular assessment and for measuring a student's progress toward attaining postsecondary and workforce readiness.

(d) In adopting a system of assessments, the state board shall also make recommendations concerning a system of ratings for public schools that recognizes each school's success in supporting the longitudinal academic growth of the students enrolled in the public schools and in achieving adequate yearly progress as required by federal law.

(e) In adopting a system of assessments, the state board shall recommend legislative changes as necessary to implement the system and the proposed changes to the system of ratings for public schools.

(f) The state board shall ensure that the assessments adopted pursuant to this section are a combination of constructed response and selected response tasks that require the student to produce information or perform tasks in a way that the student's skills and competencies can be measured.

(1.5) Colorado shall participate as a governing board member, at least until January 1, 2014, in a consortium of states that focuses on the readiness of students for college and careers by developing a common set of assessments. On or before January 1, 2014, and on or before each January 1 thereafter, if Colorado is a governing board member of the consortium of states, the state board is strongly encouraged to conduct a fiscal and student achievement benefit analysis of Colorado remaining a governing board member of the consortium. If adopting the system of assessments that is aligned with the state standards for reading, writing, and mathematics, the state board shall rely upon assessments developed by the consortium of states.

(2) In adopting the system of assessments, the state board shall ensure that the assessments it adopts that are administered in high school are designed to enable a student to demonstrate postsecondary and workforce readiness by the time the student graduates from high school.

(3) In adopting an assessment that is aligned with the state standards for writing, the state board shall:

(a) Ensure that any writing assessment that is included within the system of assessments can be evaluated and the results returned to the local education providers in a timely manner and that the assessment is designed to provide relevant, useful results; and

(b) Seek input from local education providers concerning the writing assessments used by each local education provider, the usefulness of the assessments, and recommendations from the local education provider concerning writing assessments that would be effectively used at a statewide level.

(4) The state board shall modify the system of assessments adopted pursuant to this section as necessary in response to comments received through the peer review process and to reflect the contents of the state plan approved pursuant to section 22-7-1012.

(5) (a) Every six years after the adoption of the system of assessments pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section, the state board shall review and adopt any appropriate revisions or updates to the system of assessments, including any assessments administered in languages other than English. The state board may adopt revisions to an assessment or adopt additional assessments, regardless of whether it adopts any revision to the standards with which the assessment is aligned. In adopting revisions to the system of assessments, the state board shall ensure that the system of assessments continues to meet the requirements specified in this section. The department of education shall review and update the administration and security policies for assessments as necessary to maintain the integrity of the assessments.

(b) In reviewing the assessments administered to students enrolled in high school, the state board shall adopt any revisions that may be necessary to ensure that the assessments are aligned with any revisions to the description of postsecondary and workforce readiness adopted by the state board and the commission pursuant to section 22-7-1008 (3)(a).