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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
3 HOUSE BILL 4174 By: Staires
4
5
6 AS INTRODUCED
7 An Act relating to schools; amending 70 O.S. 2021,
Section 1210.508, as last amended by Section 10,
8 Chapter 492, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section
1210.508), which relates to the statewide student
9 assessment system; limiting the assessment system to
federal minimum assessment requirements; eliminating
10 option to require more than one assessment in certain
subjects; eliminating U.S. History assessment
11 requirements; eliminating option for the statewide
assessment system to require multiple assessments in
12 reading, writing, math, and other subject areas;
clarifying that school districts cannot require more
13 assessments; providing an effective date; and
declaring an emergency.
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15
16
17 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
18 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508, as
19 last amended by Section 10, Chapter 492, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp.
20 2025, Section 1210.508), is amended to read as follows:
21 Section 1210.508. A. 1. By no later than December 31, 2016,
22 the State Board of Education shall adopt a statewide system of
23 student assessments in compliance with the Elementary and Secondary
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1 Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as reauthorized and amended by P.L.
2 No. 114-95, also known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
3 2. The statewide student assessment system adopted by the Board
4 pursuant to this subsection shall be aligned with the Oklahoma
5 Academic Standards as adopted by the Board and which prepare
6 students for college and careers.
7 B. 1. The Board shall issue a request for proposals for the
8 selection of assessments to be administered to students in grades
9 three through twelve as a part of the statewide student assessment
10 system adopted by the Board pursuant to this section.
11 2. The Board shall adopt assessments from the selected
12 proposals that were submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 of this
13 subsection. The adopted assessments shall be administered by the
14 Board for a period that is in coordination with the six-year subject
15 area textbook adoption cycle unless the vendor does not fulfill the
16 terms of the contract or fails to comply with or violates the terms
17 of the contract. The Board shall administer the assessments
18 beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.
19 C. The statewide student assessment system adopted by the Board
20 pursuant to this section shall include assessments that:
21 1. Are aligned with the Oklahoma subject matter standards as
22 adopted by the Board, but do not exceed federal minimum assessment
23 requirements;
24 2. Provide a measure of comparability among other states;
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1 3. Yield both norm-referenced scores and criterion-referenced
2 scores;
3 4. Have a track record of statistical reliability and accuracy;
4 and
5 5. For assessments administered in high school, provide a
6 measure of future academic performance.
7 D. For the 2016-2017 school year, the Board shall administer
8 assessments in:
9 1. English Language Arts or reading and mathematics in grades
10 three through eight and at least once in high school, during the
11 grade span of nine through twelve;
12 2. Science not less than once during each grade span of three
13 through five, six through nine, and ten through twelve; and
14 3. United States History not less than once during the grade
15 span of nine through twelve.
16 E. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the statewide
17 student assessment system shall include assessments in:
18 a. English Language Arts and mathematics in grades three
19 through eight and at least once in high school, during
20 the grade span of nine through twelve, and
21 b. science not less than once during each grade span of
22 three through five, six through nine, and ten through
23 twelve, and
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1 c. United States History, with an emphasis on civics, not
2 less than once during the grade span of nine through
3 twelve.
4 2. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the statewide
5 student assessment system may include:
6 a. assessments in reading, writing, and mathematics in
7 certain grades as determined by the Board, and
8 b. contingent upon the availability of funds, an
9 additional nationally recognized college- and career-
10 readiness assessment or assessments as recommended by
11 the State Department of Education which will be
12 administered to students in high school at no cost to
13 the student.
14 F. 1. Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in the
15 2017-2018 school year, each student shall take the assessment or
16 assessments included in the statewide student assessment system
17 adopted by the Board pursuant to subsection A of this section in
18 order to graduate from a public high school with a standard diploma.
19 All students shall take the assessment or assessments prior to
20 graduation, unless otherwise exempt by law.
21 2. Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in the
22 2017-2018 school year, each student, in addition to taking the
23 assessment or assessments included in the statewide student
24 assessment system adopted by the Board pursuant to subsection A of
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1 this section, shall meet any other high school graduation
2 requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled
3 House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma
4 Legislature in order to graduate from a public high school with a
5 standard diploma.
6 3. For students who start the ninth grade prior to or during
7 the 2016-2017 school year, school districts shall adopt a plan that
8 establishes the assessment or assessments those students are
9 required to take, in accordance with this section, in order to
10 graduate from a public high school with a standard diploma. The
11 plan may also include any or all of the other high school graduation
12 requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled
13 House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma
14 Legislature that those students will be required to meet in order to
15 graduate from a public high school with a standard diploma.
16 4. The Board shall promulgate rules to ensure that students who
17 transfer into an Oklahoma school district from out-of-state after
18 the junior year of high school shall not be denied the opportunity
19 to be awarded a standard diploma due to differing testing
20 requirements.
21 G. In order to provide an indication of the levels of
22 competency attained by the student in a permanent record for
23 potential future employers and institutions of higher education,
24 school districts shall report on the high school transcript of the
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1 student the highest-achieved score on the assessment or assessments
2 included in the statewide student assessment system adopted by the
3 Board pursuant to subsection A of this section and any business- and
4 industry-recognized endorsements attained.
5 H. Students who do not perform at a proficiency level on
6 assessments shall be remediated as established in the assessment
7 requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled
8 House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma
9 Legislature, subject to the availability of funding.
10 I. 1. All assessments required by this section shall measure
11 academic competencies in correlation with the subject matter
12 standards adopted by the Board pursuant to Sections 11-103.6 and 11-
13 103.6a of this title and referred to as the Oklahoma Academic
14 Standards. The State Board of Education shall evaluate the subject
15 matter standards to ensure the competencies reflect high standards,
16 are specific, well-defined, measurable, and challenging, and will
17 prepare elementary students for next-grade-level course work and
18 secondary students for postsecondary studies at institutions of
19 higher education or technology center schools without the need for
20 remediation. All subject matter standards shall reflect the goals
21 as set forth in Section 11-103.6 of this title and of improving the
22 state average of college entrance exam scores.
23 2. The State Department of Education shall annually evaluate
24 the results of the assessments. The State Board of Education shall
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1 ensure that preliminary results for all statewide assessments are
2 reported to districts no later than June 20 of each year and are
3 presented in a manner that yields detailed, diagnostic information
4 for the purpose of guiding instruction and student remediation. As
5 improvements are made to the assessments required by this section,
6 the Board shall seek to increase the depth of knowledge assessed for
7 each subject. The State Board of Education shall seek to ensure
8 that data yielded from the assessments required in this section are
9 utilized at the school district level to inform instruction,
10 professional development, school improvement, and remediation for
11 students.
12 3. The Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability
13 shall determine the cut scores for the performance levels on all
14 statewide assessments. The Commission shall conduct an ongoing
15 review to compare the statewide assessment content and performance
16 descriptors with those of other states. Upon receipt of the review,
17 the Commission may adjust the cut scores as necessary.
18 4. The State Board of Education, for the purposes of conducting
19 reliability and validity studies, monitoring contractor adherence to
20 professionally accepted testing standards, and providing
21 recommendations for testing program improvement, shall retain the
22 services of an established, independent agency or organization that
23 is nationally recognized for its technical expertise in educational
24 testing but is not engaged in the development of aptitude or
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1 achievement tests for elementary or secondary level grades. These
2 national assessment experts shall annually conduct studies of the
3 reliability and validity of the statewide assessments administered
4 pursuant to this section. Validity studies shall include studies of
5 decision validity and concurrent validity.
6 J. 1. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules
7 setting the assessment window dates for each statewide assessment so
8 that the assessments are administered according to recommended
9 testing protocols and so that the assessment results are reported
10 back to school districts in a timely manner. The vendor shall
11 provide a final electronic data file of all school site, school
12 district, and state results to the State Department of Education and
13 the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability prior to August
14 20 of each year. The Department shall forward the final data files
15 for each school district and each school site in that district to
16 the school district. The Board shall ensure the contract with the
17 vendor includes a provision that the vendor report assessment
18 results directly to the Office of Educational Quality and
19 Accountability at the same time it is reported to the Board.
20 2. State, district, and site level results of all assessments
21 required in this section shall be disaggregated by gender, race,
22 ethnicity, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency,
23 and status as economically disadvantaged, except that such
24 disaggregation shall not be required in a case in which the number
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1 of students in a category is insufficient to yield statistically
2 reliable information or the results would reveal personally
3 identifiable information about an individual student. Each school
4 site shall notify the student's parents or legal guardians of the
5 school's performance levels in the Oklahoma School Testing Program
6 as reported in the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program at the
7 end of each school year.
8 K. The State Board of Education shall be responsible for the
9 field-testing and validation of the statewide assessment system
10 required in subsection A of this section.
11 L. The State Board of Education shall develop, administer, and
12 incorporate as a part of the Oklahoma School Testing Program other
13 assessment programs or procedures including appropriate
14 accommodations for the assessment of students with disabilities as
15 required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
16 20 U.S.C., Section 1400 et seq.
17 M. For purposes of developing and administering alternate
18 assessments for students with the most significant cognitive
19 disabilities, the State Board of Education shall not be subject to
20 subsections D and E of Section 11-103.6a of this title.
21 N. By December 15, 2026, and annually thereafter, the State
22 Board of Education shall electronically submit a report to the
23 Legislature containing data collected for the most recently
24 completed school year on the number and demographics of students who
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1 were eligible for advanced mathematics courses, the number and
2 demographics of students who were placed in advanced mathematics
3 courses, the number and demographics of students placed in
4 mathematics intervention courses, and the number and demographics of
5 students not placed in advanced mathematic courses or mathematic
6 intervention courses. The report shall include information on the
7 type and format of advanced mathematic courses and the type and
8 format of mathematic intervention courses.
9 O. The State Board of Education shall provide guidance on how
10 to best develop programming and courses to ensure all impacted
11 students receive rigorous, academically appropriate instruction in
12 mathematics.
13 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2026.
14 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
15 of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
16 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
17 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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19 60-2-15827 SW 01/10/26
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