EDU-19-14-00007-A Traditional Standardized Tests Administration
7/30/14 N.Y. St. Reg. EDU-19-14-00007-A
NEW YORK STATE REGISTER
VOLUME XXXVI, ISSUE 30
July 30, 2014
RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
NOTICE OF ADOPTION
I.D No. EDU-19-14-00007-A
Filing No. 602
Filing Date. Jul. 09, 2014
Effective Date. Jul. 30, 2014
Traditional Standardized Tests Administration
PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:
Action taken:
Amendment of sections 100.3, 151-1.2 and 151-1.3 of Title 8 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Education Law, sections 101(not subdivided), 207(not subdivided), 208(not subdivided), 209(not subdivided), 210(not subdivided), 215(not subdivided), 305(1), (2), (20), (44), 308(not subdivided), 309(not subdivided), 3204(3), 3602-e(12) and (15); L. 2014, ch. 56, part AA, subpart A
Subject:
Traditional standardized tests administration.
Purpose:
To prohibit administration of traditional standardized tests in prekindergarten programs and in grades kindergarten through two.
Text or summary was published
in the May 14, 2014 issue of the Register, I.D. No. EDU-19-14-00007-EP.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
No changes.
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Kirti Goswami, State Education Department, Office of Counsel, State Education Building, Room 148, 89 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12234, (518) 474-6400, email: legal@mail.nysed.gov
Initial Review of Rule
As a rule that requires a RFA, RAFA or JIS, this rule will be initially reviewed in the calendar year 2019, which is the 4th or 5th year after the year in which this rule is being adopted. This review period, justification for proposing same, and invitation for public comment thereon, were contained in a RFA, RAFA or JIS:
An assessment of public comment on the 4 or 5-year initial review period is not attached because no comments were received on the issue.
Assessment of Public Comment
Since publication of a Notice of Emergency Adoption and Proposed Rule Making in the State Register on May 14, 2014, the State Education Department received the following comment.
1. COMMENT:
Extending the applicability of the proposed rule to charter schools unlawfully conflicts with the New York Education Law and threatens charter schools’ ability to make decisions regarding their own educational programming.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:
The regulatory language does not address charter schools directly—it imposes the requirements on school districts and registered nonpublic schools. However, Education Law § 2854(1)(b) states that “a charter school shall meet the same health and safety, civil rights, and student assessment requirements applicable to other public schools. . . [emphasis supplied].”
The proposed rule is necessary to conform the Commissioner’s Regulations to Subpart A of Part AA of Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2014, which became effective April 1, 2014, and which adds a new subdivision (44) to Education Law section 305, and amends Education Law section 3602-e(15) to direct the Commissioner to prohibit the administration of traditional standardized tests, as defined in regulations issued by the Commissioner, in prekindergarten programs (including Universal Prekindergarten programs), and in grades kindergarten through second grade.
Consistent with the statute, the proposed rule prohibits the administration of traditional standardized tests in prekindergarten programs (including Universal Prekindergarten programs), and in grades kindergarten through two, and accordingly is “a student assessment requirement applicable to other public schools” and as such the proposed rule is also applicable to charter schools pursuant to Education Law § 2854(1)(b).
2. COMMENT:
The definition of “traditional standardized test” is ambiguous and overbroad. First, it is not clear how standardized tests are differentiated from “performance assessments,” which are expressly permitted under the proposed rule. Second, this definition is unnecessarily overbroad, and will have the detrimental effect of limiting charter schools' flexibility and autonomy regarding internal assessments used to identify learning gaps in student achievement. SED should revise the proposed rule to clarify that the definition of “traditional standardized test” is limited to the annual New York State math and English language arts assessments.
DEPARTMENT RESPONSE:
The proposed rule is necessary to conform the Commissioner’s Regulations to Subpart A of Part AA of Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2014, which became effective April 1, 2014, and which adds a new subdivision (44) to Education Law section 305, and amends Education Law section 3602-e(15) to direct the Commissioner to prohibit the administration of traditional standardized tests, as defined in regulations issued by the Commissioner, in prekindergarten programs (including Universal Prekindergarten programs), and in grades kindergarten through second grade.
The Department does not believe the definition of “traditional standardized tests” in the regulation is overly broad. On the contrary, the same definition can be found in section 30-2.2 of the Rules of the Board of Regents, which relates to Annual Professional Performance Reviews of teachers and building principals pursuant to Education Law § 3012-c, and is needed to provide a consistent, uniform definition that meets statutory requirements.
Moreover, Subpart A of Part AA of Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2014 specifically exempts “assessments in which students perform real-world tasks that demonstrate application of knowledge and skills” from the definition of traditional standardized assessments. Therefore, the exclusion of performance assessments in the regulation from the definition of traditional standardized assessment is consistent with the statute.
