79-760 Statewide assessment and reporting system for school years prior to 2009-10; State Board of Education; duties.
79-760. Statewide assessment and reporting system for school years prior to 2009-10; State Board of Education; duties.(1)(a) For school years prior to 2009-10, the State Board of Education shall implement a statewide system for the assessment of student learning and for reporting the performance of school districts and learning communities pursuant to this section. The assessment and reporting system shall test student knowledge of subject matter materials covered by the measurable model academic content standards approved by the state board. The state board shall adopt an assessment and reporting plan and begin implementation of the assessment and reporting system in the 2000-01 school year beginning with the assessment of reading and writing. The state board shall prescribe statewide assessments of writing that rely on writing samples beginning in the spring of 2001 with students in each of three grades selected by the state board. For each academic year thereafter, one of the three selected grades shall participate in the statewide writing assessment. The state board shall develop an assessment system and prescribe statewide assessments for the subject areas of reading, mathematics, science, social studies, and history. The assessment and reporting system for each subject area, except writing, shall be based on locally developed assessments the first year.(b) Following the first assessment in each subject area, except writing, the State Department of Education shall contract with independent, recognized assessment experts to review and rate locally developed assessments. The department shall identify the criteria for rating the model assessments. The assessment experts shall identify not more than four model assessments receiving the highest ratings. Districts shall thereafter adopt one of the four model assessments and may, in addition, adapt their locally developed assessments.(c) The aggregate results of any assessments required by the state board pursuant to this section shall be reported by the district on a building basis to the public in that district, to the learning community coordinating council if such district is a member of a learning community, and to the department. Each learning community shall also report the aggregate results of any assessments required by the state board pursuant to this section to the public in that learning community and to the department.(d) The department shall report the aggregate results of any assessments required by the state board pursuant to this section on a learning community, district, and building basis as part of the statewide assessment and reporting system.(2) The purposes of the assessment and reporting system described in subsection (1) of this section are to:(a) Determine how well public schools are performing in terms of achievement of public school students related to the model state academic content standards;(b) Report the performance of public schools based upon the results of the assessment;(c) Provide information for the public and policymakers on the performance of public schools; and(d) Provide for the comparison among Nebraska public schools and the comparison of Nebraska public schools to public schools in the nation and the world.(3)(a) The assessment and reporting plan described in subsection (1) of this section shall:(i) Provide for the confidentiality of the results of individual students; and (ii) Include all public schools and all public school students. (b) The state board shall adopt criteria for the inclusion of students with disabilities, students entering the school for the first time, and students with limited English proficiency. SourceLaws 1998, LB 1228, § 4; Laws 2000, LB 812, § 4; Laws 2006, LB 1024, § 58; Laws 2007, LB653, § 3.