Section 120B.35 Student Academic Achievement and Growth
120B.35 STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND GROWTH.
Subdivision 1.School and student indicators of growth and achievement.
The commissioner must develop and implement a system for measuring and reporting academic achievement and individual student growth, consistent with the statewide educational accountability and reporting system. The system components must measure and separately report the adequate yearly progress of schools and the growth of individual students: students' current achievement in schools under subdivision 2; and individual students' educational growth over time under subdivision 3. The system also must include statewide measures of student academic growth that identify schools with high levels of growth, and also schools with low levels of growth that need improvement. When determining a school's effect, the data must include both statewide measures of student achievement and, to the extent annual tests are administered, indicators of achievement growth that take into account a student's prior achievement. Indicators of achievement and prior achievement must be based on highly reliable statewide or districtwide assessments. Indicators that take into account a student's prior achievement must not be used to disregard a school's low achievement or to exclude a school from a program to improve low achievement levels.
Subd. 2.Federal expectations for student academic achievement.
(a) Each school year, a school district must determine if the student achievement levels at each school site meet federal expectations. If student achievement levels at a school site do not meet federal expectations and the site has not made adequate yearly progress for two consecutive school years, beginning with the 2001-2002 school year, the district must work with the school site to adopt a plan to raise student achievement levels to meet federal expectations. The commissioner of education shall establish student academic achievement levels to comply with this paragraph.
(b) School sites identified as not meeting federal expectations must develop continuous improvement plans in order to meet federal expectations for student academic achievement. The department, at a district's request, must assist the district and the school site in developing a plan to improve student achievement. The plan must include parental involvement components.
(c) The commissioner must:
(1) assist school sites and districts identified as not meeting federal expectations; and
(2) provide technical assistance to schools that integrate student achievement measures into the school continuous improvement plan.
(d) The commissioner shall establish and maintain a continuous improvement Web site designed to make data on every school and district available to parents, teachers, administrators, community members, and the general public.
Subd. 3.State growth target; other state measures.
(a) The state's educational assessment system measuring individual students' educational growth is based on indicators of achievement growth that show an individual student's prior achievement. Indicators of achievement and prior achievement must be based on highly reliable statewide or districtwide assessments.
(b) The commissioner, in consultation with a stakeholder group that includes assessment and evaluation directors and staff and researchers must implement a model that uses a value-added growth indicator and includes criteria for identifying schools and school districts that demonstrate medium and high growth under section 120B.299, subdivisions 8 and 9, and may recommend other value-added measures under section 120B.299, subdivision 3. The model may be used to advance educators' professional development and replicate programs that succeed in meeting students' diverse learning needs. Data on individual teachers generated under the model are personnel data under section 13.43. The model must allow users to:
(1) report student growth consistent with this paragraph; and
(2) for all student categories, report and compare aggregated and disaggregated state growth data using the nine student categories identified under the federal 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and two student gender categories of male and female, respectively, following appropriate reporting practices to protect nonpublic student data.
The commissioner must report separate measures of student growth and proficiency, consistent with this paragraph.
(c) When reporting student performance under section 120B.36, subdivision 1, the commissioner annually, beginning July 1, 2011, must report two core measures indicating the extent to which current high school graduates are being prepared for postsecondary academic and career opportunities:
(1) a preparation measure indicating the number and percentage of high school graduates in the most recent school year who completed course work important to preparing them for postsecondary academic and career opportunities, consistent with the core academic subjects required for admission to Minnesota's public colleges and universities as determined by the Office of Higher Education under chapter 136A; and
(2) a rigorous coursework measure indicating the number and percentage of high school graduates in the most recent school year who successfully completed one or more college-level advanced placement, international baccalaureate, postsecondary enrollment options including concurrent enrollment, other rigorous courses of study under section 120B.021, subdivision 1a, or industry certification courses or programs.
When reporting the core measures under clauses (1) and (2), the commissioner must also analyze and report separate categories of information using the nine student categories identified under the federal 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and two student gender categories of male and female, respectively, following appropriate reporting practices to protect nonpublic student data.
(d) When reporting student performance under section 120B.36, subdivision 1, the commissioner annually, beginning July 1, 2014, must report summary data on school safety and students' engagement and connection at school. The summary data under this paragraph are separate from and must not be used for any purpose related to measuring or evaluating the performance of classroom teachers. The commissioner, in consultation with qualified experts on student engagement and connection and classroom teachers, must identify highly reliable variables that generate summary data under this paragraph. The summary data may be used at school, district, and state levels only. Any data on individuals received, collected, or created that are used to generate the summary data under this paragraph are nonpublic data under section 13.02, subdivision 9.
Subd. 4.Improving schools.
Consistent with the requirements of this section, beginning June 20, 2012, the commissioner of education must annually report to the public and the legislature the organizational and curricular practices implemented in those schools that demonstrate medium and high growth compared to the state growth target.
Subd. 5.Improving graduation rates for students with emotional or behavioral disorders.
(a) A district must develop strategies in conjunction with parents of students with emotional or behavioral disorders and the county board responsible for implementing sections 245.487 to 245.4889 to keep students with emotional or behavioral disorders in school, when the district has a drop-out rate for students with an emotional or behavioral disorder in grades 9 through 12 exceeding 25 percent.
(b) A district must develop a plan in conjunction with parents of students with emotional or behavioral disorders and the local mental health authority to increase the graduation rates of students with emotional or behavioral disorders. A district with a drop-out rate for children with an emotional or behavioral disturbance in grades 9 through 12 that is in the top 25 percent of all districts shall submit a plan for review and oversight to the commissioner.
History:
1998 c 398 art 9 s 1; 1999 c 241 art 9 s 4; 2000 c 500 s 16; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 2 s 5; 2003 c 130 s 12; 2004 c 294 art 5 s 2; 2007 c 147 art 8 s 38; 2009 c 96 art 2 s 12
NOTE: Subdivision 3, paragraph (d), as added by Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 12, applies to data that are collected in the 2012-2013 school year and later and reported annually beginning July 1, 2014, consistent with advice the commissioner receives from recognized and qualified experts on student engagement and connection and classroom teachers. Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 12, the effective date.
NOTE: The amendment to subdivision 4 by Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 12, applies in the 2011-2012 school year and later. Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 12, the effective date.