(A) Beginning in eleventh grade for the first time in School Year 2017-2018 and subsequent years, all students must be offered a college entrance assessment that is from a provider secured by the department. In addition, all students entering the eleventh grade for the first time in School Year 2017-2018 and subsequent years must be administered a career readiness assessment. The results of the assessments must be provided to each student, their respective schools, and to the State to:

(1) assist students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors in developing individual graduation plans and in selecting courses aligned with each student's future ambitions;

(2) promote South Carolina's Work Ready Communities initiative; and

(3) meet federal and state accountability requirements.

(B) Students subsequently may use the results of these assessments to apply to college or to enter careers. The results must be added as part of each student's permanent record and maintained at the department for at least ten years. The purpose of the results is to provide instructional information to assist students, parents, and teachers to plan for each student's course selection. This course selection might include remediation courses, dual-enrollment or dual-credit courses, advanced placement courses/International Baccalaureate, internships, career and technology courses that are aligned with appropriate industry credentials or certificates, or other options during the remaining semesters in high school.

(1) For purposes of this section, "eleventh grade students" means students in the third year of high school after their initial enrollment in the ninth grade.

(2) Valid accommodations must be provided according to the students' IEP or 504 plan. If a student also chooses to use the results of the college readiness assessment for post-secondary admission or placement, the student, his parent, or his guardian must indicate that choice in compliance with the testing vendor's deadline to ensure that the student may receive allowable accommodations consistent with the IEP or 504 plan that may yield a college reportable score.

(3) In the twelfth grade, and as aligned to the student's Individual Graduation Plan, if funds are available, the State shall provide all students the opportunity to take or retake a college readiness assessment, the career readiness assessment, and/or earn industry credentials or certifications at no cost to the students. The results of the assessments must be provided to each student, the respective schools, and to the State.

(4) A student with a disability, whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) team determines, and agrees in writing, that taking either of these assessments would not be aligned with the student's program of study and the student should not be administered either assessment, must not be administered either assessment.

(C) To maintain a comprehensive and cohesive assessment system that signals a student's preparedness for the next educational level and ultimately culminates in a clear indication of a student's preparedness for postsecondary success in a college or career and to satisfy federal and state accountability purposes, the State Department of Education shall procure and maintain a summative assessment system.

(1) The summative assessment must be administered to all students in grades three through eight. The summative assessment must assess students in English/language arts and mathematics, including those students as required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. For purposes of this subsection, "English/language arts" includes English, reading, and writing skills as required by existing state standards. The assessment must be a rigorous, achievement assessment that measures student mastery of the state standards, that provides timely reporting of results to educators, parents, and students, and that measures each student's progress toward college and career readiness. Therefore, the assessment or assessments must meet all of the following minimum requirements:

(a) compares performance of students in South Carolina to other students' performance on comparable standards in other states with the ability to link the scales of the South Carolina assessment to the scales from other assessments measuring those comparable standards;

(b) be a vertically scaled, benchmarked, standards-based system of summative assessments;

(c) measures a student's preparedness for the next level of their educational matriculation and individual student performance against the state standards in English/language arts, reading, writing, mathematics, and student growth;

(d) documents student progress toward national college and career readiness benchmarks derived from empirical research and state standards;

(e) establishes at least four student achievement levels;

(f) includes various test questions including, but not limited to, multiple choice, constructed response, and selected response, that require students to demonstrate their understanding of the content;

(g) be administered to all students in a computer-based format except for students with disabilities as specified in the student's IEP or 504 plan, and unless the use of a computer by these students is prohibited due to the vendor's restrictions on computer-based test security, in which case the paper version must be made available; and

(h) assists school districts and schools in aligning assessment, curriculum, and instruction.

(2)(a) Beginning in the 2017-2018 School Year, each school district shall administer the statewide summative assessment, with the exception of alternate assessments, for grades three through eight during the last twenty days of school as determined by the district's regular instructional calendar, not including make-up days. If an extension to the twenty-day time period is needed, the school district or charter school may submit a request for an extension to the State Board of Education before December first of the school year for which the waiver is requested. The request must clearly document the scope and rationale for the extension. The request also must be accompanied by an action plan showing how the district or charter school will be able to comply with the twenty-day time frame for the following school year.

(b) Statewide summative testing for each student may not exceed eight days each school year, with the exception of students with disabilities as specified in their IEPs or 504 plans.

(c) The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations outlining the procedures to be used during the testing process to ensure test security, including procedures for make-up days, and to comply with federal and state assessment requirements where necessary.

(d) In the event of school closure due to extreme weather or other disruptions that are not the fault of the district, or significant school or district technology disruptions that impede computer-based assessment administration, the school district or charter school may submit a request to the department to provide a paper-based administration to complete testing within the last twenty days of school. The request must clearly document the scope and cause of the disruption.

(3) Beginning with the 2017-2018 School Year, the department shall procure and administer the standards-based assessments of mathematics and English/language arts to students in grades three through eight. The department also shall procure and administer the standards-based assessment in science to students in grades four, six, and eight, and the standards-based assessment in social studies to students in grades five and seven.

(4) The State Department of Education shall reimburse districts for the administration of the college entrance and career readiness assessments.

(5) Formative assessments must continue to be adopted, selected, and administered pursuant to Section 59-18-310.

(6) Within thirty days after providing student performance data to the school districts as required by law, the department must provide to the Education Oversight Committee student performance results on assessments authorized in this subsection and end-of-course assessments in a format agreed upon by the department and the Oversight Committee. The results of these assessments must be included in state ratings for each school beginning in the 2017-2018 School Year. The Oversight Committee also must develop and recommend a single accountability system that meets federal and state accountability requirements by the Fall of 2017. While developing the single accountability system that will be implemented in the 2017-2018 School Year, the Education Oversight Committee shall determine the format of a transitional report card released to the public in the Fall of 2016 and 2017 that will also identify underperforming schools and districts. These transitional reports will, at a minimum, include the following: (A) school, district, and statewide student assessment results in reading and mathematics in grades three through eight; (B) high school and district graduation rates; and (C) measures of student college and career readiness at the school, district, and statewide level. These transitional reports will inform schools and districts, the public, and the Department of Education of school and district general academic performance and assist in identifying potentially underperforming schools and districts and in targeting technical assistance support and interventions in the interim before ratings are issued.

(7) When standards are subsequently revised, the Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and the Education Oversight Committee shall approve assessments pursuant to Section 59-18-320.

HISTORY: 2014 Act No. 155 (H.3919), Section 4, eff April 14, 2014; 2014 Act No. 200 (H.3893), Section 3, eff June 19, 2014; 2016 Act No. 281 (H.5140), Section 2, eff June 22, 2016; 2017 Act No. 94 (H.3969), Section 8, eff June 10, 2017.

Editor's Note

2014 Act No. 200, Section 5, provides as follows:

"SECTION 5. On the effective date of this act, South Carolina will no longer be a governing or advisory state in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Furthermore, South Carolina may not adopt or administer the Smarter Balanced Assessment."

Effect of Amendment

2014 Act No. 200, Section 3, added subsection (C), relating to summative assessment.

2016 Act No. 281, Section 2, rewrote (C), revising various assessments used, manner of procurement, implementation, and administration of these assessments, among other things.

2017 Act No. 94, Section 8, amended the section, revising procurement and administration provisions and the time after which results of such assessments may be included in school ratings.