Model Legislation

A Partnership to Create Model Legislation

FairTest has partnered with the National Education Association (NEA) to develop model legislation and regulations to limit testing beyond federal requirements, mitigate the harm from testing and support educationally beneficial, valid and reliable assessments.

The Alabama Workforce Pathways Act establishes a new workforce pathways diploma that allows for alternative assessments to be considered is rating a school or school system.

A California Assembly bill that would require the State Education Department to adopt regulations to include the completion of a culminating performance assessment, such as a graduate pupil profile, capstone project, senior exhibition, or portfolio, that demonstrates competency in skills beyond core academic areas, as an accepted measure for the college or career readiness indicator for the California School Dashboard.

In California,after receiving mandated notice of their right to opt out from a state mandated test, parents have an absolute right to keep their children from taking the specified test by making a simple written request. California Opt-Out

A bill before the Colorado legislature would allow districts to reduce testing to the federal minimums and support and encourage the development of performance-based assessment and other local innovations. It also requires the state to apply for a Competitive State Assessment Grant. This potentially transformative legislation can be found here.

Colorado enacted an audit of its school accountability system to gauge its actual effectiveness in promoting student learning and fostering school improvement. Colorado Performance Audit

The Connecticut House passed a bill to have the state department of education conduct a performance audit of tests used to measure matters statewide. Connecticut Testing Audit

In an omnibus bill, Connecticut established criteria and courses that can qualify towards graduation requirements, including those that provide multiple and flexible opportunities and pathways to learning and demonstration of knowledge (Section 8(h)). It also created a working group to make recommendations regarding the high school graduation requirements, grading policies and calculation of accountability index scores for districts. (Sections 27 and 28).

Georgia repealed using high stakes exams for determining diploma eligibility. Georgia Graduation Test Repeal.

Prohibits mandating or funding additional standardized assessments in ELA, math or science for grades K-6. Illinois K-6 Minimum

The “Too Young to Test” bill prevents the Illinois State Board of Education from testing students in pre-kindergarten through second grade. Learn more

Legislation in Massachusetts would eliminate passage of the MCAS exams as a graduation requirement and simply require students to pass courses demonstrating graduation-level competencies in order to receive a high school diploma.

MCAS Repeal

Massachusetts legislation, An Act Empowering Students and Schools to Thrive, would change the methodology of identifying schools in need of support and improvement and providing such supports. The legislation introduces a system of engaging community stakeholders and utilizing evidence-based supports, programs and interventions to achieve school improvement.

Mass School Improvement

A Massachusetts bill would create a grant program to support the establishment of district task forces to develop and pilot alternative assessment models.

Michigan bill would repeal mandatory retention in grade of third graders who did not pass a state reading test. The bill also provides for targeted interventions for students who fail to demonstrate adequate grade level reading proficiency in grades K-3.

Michigan Reading Retention Bill Summary

Bill as reported out of Senate Committee

Missouri bill would prohibit the use of mandated ESSA assessments from being used for school ratings and classifications and at same time requires development or purchase of interim assessments authentic to discipline specific learning and demonstrate performance-based learning.

Provides that districts make available courses of study that allow students to pursue a range of workforce and post-secondary opportunities aligned with the district’s graduate profile and the individual student’s next-step plans. Assures that there are multiple pathways for students to graduate high school with post-secondary options. New Mexico Graduation Requirements

State regulations in New York provide a variance from state testing mandates in order support a system of graduation level performance-based assessments. New York Testing Variance

Grade retention decisions based on a single high stakes instrument is invalid and unreliable. This Ohio bill repeals such usage.

This Oregon bill limits the number of standardized summative assessments administered in schools to the practicable minimum required by ESSA and authorizes waiver requests when necessary to meet that goal.

Oregon Federal Minimum

This proposal, drafted and backed by educators, requires all districts to conduct comprehensive surveys of current testing practices.Oregon Testing Audit