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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
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3 SENATE BILL 1897 By: Pugh
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to student assessments; amending 70
7 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508, as last amended by
8 Section 10, Chapter 492, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp.
8 2025, Section 1210.508), which relates to the
9 statewide system of student assessments; directing
9 the State Board of Education to amend certain state
10 plan to allow for administration of certain
10 assessments; requiring submission of certain
11 amendment by certain date; directing the Board to
11 issue a request for proposals for the selection of
12 certain assessments; requiring the Board to publish
12 on certain website certain list of approved
13 assessments that may be administered beginning in
13 certain school year; requiring a school district that
14 chooses certain assessment to administer it to all
14 students in certain grades; updating statutory
15 language; providing an effective date; and declaring
15 an emergency.
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18 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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19 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.508, as
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20 last amended by Section 10, Chapter 492, O.S.L. 2025 (70 O.S. Supp.
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21 2025, Section 1210.508), is amended to read as follows:
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22 Section 1210.508. A. 1. By no later than December 31, 2016,
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23 the State Board of Education shall adopt a statewide system of
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24 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.
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2 No. 114-95, also known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
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3 2. The statewide student assessment system adopted by the Board
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4 pursuant to this subsection shall be aligned with the Oklahoma
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5 Academic Standards as adopted by the Board and which prepare
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6 students for college and careers.
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7 B. The State Board of Education shall amend the ESSA
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8 consolidated state plan to allow public school districts in this
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9 state to choose from a list of approved assessments to administer to
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10 students in grades nine through twelve. The assessments shall
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11 comply with the provisions of ESSA and fulfill the requirements of
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12 subsection F of this section. The Board shall submit the proposed
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13 amendment to the United States Department of Education no later than
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14 August 1, 2026.
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15 C. 1. The Board shall issue a request for proposals for the
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16 selection of assessments to be administered to students in grades
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17 three through twelve as a part of the statewide student assessment
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18 system adopted by the Board pursuant to this section.
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19 2. After the effective date of this act, the Board shall issue
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20 a request for proposals for the selection of additional assessments
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21 that comply with the provisions of ESSA and fulfill the requirements
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22 of subsection F of this section that school districts may administer
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23 to students in grades nine through twelve.
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1 3. The Board shall adopt assessments from the selected
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2 proposals that were submitted pursuant to paragraph paragraphs 1 and
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3 2 of this subsection. The adopted assessments shall be administered
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4 by the Board for a period that is in coordination with the six-year
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5 subject area textbook adoption cycle unless the vendor does not
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6 fulfill the terms of the contract or fails to comply with or
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7 violates the terms of the contract. The Board shall administer the
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8 assessments selected from proposals submitted pursuant to paragraph
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9 1 of this subsection beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.
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10 4. Upon submission of the amendment to the ESSA consolidated
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11 state plan pursuant to subsection B of this section and the
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12 selection of assessments pursuant to paragraph 2 of this subsection,
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13 the Board shall publish on the State Department of Education's
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14 website the list of approved assessments selected from proposals
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15 submitted pursuant to paragraph 2 of this subsection that may be
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16 administered beginning with the 2027-2028 school year. A school
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17 district that chooses an assessment from the list of approved
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18 assessments shall administer the same assessment to students in
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19 grades nine through twelve as provided for in subsection F of this
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20 section.
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21 C. D. The statewide student assessment system adopted by the
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22 Board pursuant to this section shall include assessments that:
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23 1. Are aligned with the Oklahoma subject matter standards as
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24 adopted by the Board;
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1 2. Provide a measure of comparability among other states;
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2 3. Yield both norm-referenced scores and criterion-referenced
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3 scores;
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4 4. Have a track record of statistical reliability and accuracy;
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5 and
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6 5. For assessments administered in high school, provide a
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7 measure of future academic performance.
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8 D. E. For the 2016-2017 school year, the Board shall administer
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9 assessments in:
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10 1. English Language Arts or reading and mathematics in grades
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11 three through eight and at least once in high school, during the
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12 grade span of nine through twelve;
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13 2. Science not less than once during each grade span of three
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14 through five, six through nine, and ten through twelve; and
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15 3. United States History not less than once during the grade
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16 span of nine through twelve.
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17 E. F. 1. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the
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18 statewide student assessment system shall include assessments in:
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19 a. English Language Arts and mathematics in grades three
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20 through eight and at least once in high school, during
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21 the grade span of nine through twelve,
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22 b. science not less than once during each grade span of
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23 three through five, six through nine, and ten through
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24 twelve, and
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1 c. United States History, with an emphasis on civics, not
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2 less than once during the grade span of nine through
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3 twelve.
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4 2. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the statewide
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5 student assessment system may include:
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6 a. assessments in reading, writing, and mathematics in
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7 certain grades as determined by the Board, and
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8 b. contingent upon the availability of funds, an
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9 additional nationally recognized college- and career-
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10 readiness assessment or assessments as recommended by
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11 the State Department of Education, which will be
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12 administered to students in high school at no cost to
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13 the student.
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14 F. G. 1. Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in
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15 the 2017-2018 school year, each student shall take the assessment or
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16 assessments included in the statewide student assessment system
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17 adopted by the Board pursuant to subsection A of this section in
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18 order to graduate from a public high school with a standard diploma.
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19 All students shall take the assessment or assessments prior to
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20 graduation, unless otherwise exempt by law.
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21 2. Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in the
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22 2017-2018 school year, each student, in addition to taking the
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23 assessment or assessments included in the statewide student
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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
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2 requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled
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3 House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma
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4 Legislature in order to graduate from a public high school with a
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5 standard diploma.
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6 3. For students who start the ninth grade prior to or during
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7 the 2016-2017 school year, school districts shall adopt a plan that
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8 establishes the assessment or assessments those students are
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9 required to take in order to graduate from a public high school with
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10 a standard diploma. The plan may also include any or all of the
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11 other high school graduation requirements adopted by the Board
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12 pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd
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13 Session of the 55th Oklahoma Legislature that those students will be
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14 required to meet in order to graduate from a public high school with
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15 a standard diploma.
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16 4. The Board shall promulgate rules to ensure that students who
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17 transfer into an Oklahoma a school district in this state from out-
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18 of-state after the junior year of high school shall not be denied
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19 the opportunity to be awarded a standard diploma due to differing
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20 testing requirements.
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21 G. H. In order to provide an indication of the levels of
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22 competency attained by the student in a permanent record for
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23 potential future employers and institutions of higher education,
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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
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2 included in the statewide student assessment system adopted by the
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3 Board pursuant to subsection A of this section and any business- and
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4 industry-recognized endorsements attained.
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5 H. I. Students who do not perform at a proficiency level on
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6 assessments shall be remediated as established in the assessment
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7 requirements adopted by the Board pursuant to Section 5 of Enrolled
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8 House Bill No. 3218 of the 2nd Session of the 55th Oklahoma
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9 Legislature, subject to the availability of funding.
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10 I. J. 1. All assessments required by this section shall
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11 measure academic competencies in correlation with the subject matter
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12 standards adopted by the Board pursuant to Sections 11-103.6 and 11-
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13 103.6a of this title and referred to as the Oklahoma Academic
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14 Standards. The State Board of Education shall evaluate the subject
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15 matter standards to ensure the competencies reflect high standards,
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16 are specific, well-defined, measurable, and challenging, and will
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17 prepare elementary students for next-grade-level course work and
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18 secondary students for postsecondary studies at institutions of
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19 higher education or technology center schools without the need for
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20 remediation. All subject matter standards shall reflect the goals
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21 as set forth in Section 11-103.6 of this title and of improving the
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22 state average of college entrance exam scores.
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23 2. The State Department of Education shall annually evaluate
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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
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2 reported to districts no later than June 20 of each year and are
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3 presented in a manner that yields detailed, diagnostic information
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4 for the purpose of guiding instruction and student remediation. As
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5 improvements are made to the assessments required by this section,
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6 the Board shall seek to increase the depth of knowledge assessed for
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7 each subject. The State Board of Education shall seek to ensure
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8 that data yielded from the assessments required in this section are
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9 utilized at the school district level to inform instruction,
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10 professional development, school improvement, and remediation for
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11 students.
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12 3. The Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability
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13 shall determine the cut scores for the performance levels on all
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14 statewide assessments. The Commission shall conduct an ongoing
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15 review to compare the statewide assessment content and performance
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16 descriptors with those of other states. Upon receipt of the review,
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17 the Commission may adjust the cut scores as necessary.
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18 4. The State Board of Education, for the purposes of conducting
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19 reliability and validity studies, monitoring contractor adherence to
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20 professionally accepted testing standards, and providing
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21 recommendations for testing program improvement, shall retain the
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22 services of an established, independent agency or organization that
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23 is nationally recognized for its technical expertise in educational
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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
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2 national assessment experts shall annually conduct studies of the
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3 reliability and validity of the statewide assessments administered
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4 pursuant to this section. Validity studies shall include studies of
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5 decision validity and concurrent validity.
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6 J. K. 1. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules
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7 setting the assessment window dates for each statewide assessment so
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8 that the assessments are administered according to recommended
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9 testing protocols and so that the assessment results are reported
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10 back to school districts in a timely manner. The vendor shall
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11 provide a final electronic data file of all school site, school
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12 district, and state results to the State Department of Education and
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13 the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability prior to August
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14 20 of each year. The Department shall forward the final data files
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15 for each school district and each school site in that district to
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16 the school district. The Board shall ensure the contract with the
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17 vendor includes a provision that the vendor report assessment
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18 results directly to the Office of Educational Quality and
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19 Accountability at the same time it is they are reported to the
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20 Board.
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21 2. State, district, and site level results of all assessments
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22 required in this section shall be disaggregated by gender, race,
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23 ethnicity, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency,
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24 and status as economically disadvantaged, except that such
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Req. No. 3187 Page 9
1 disaggregation shall not be required in a case in which the number
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2 of students in a category is insufficient to yield statistically
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3 reliable information or the results would reveal personally
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4 identifiable information about an individual student. Each school
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5 site shall notify the student's parents or legal guardians of the
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6 school's performance levels in the Oklahoma School Testing Program
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7 as reported in the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program at the
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8 end of each school year.
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9 K. L. The State Board of Education shall be responsible for the
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10 field-testing and validation of the statewide assessment system
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11 required in subsection A of this section.
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12 L. M. The State Board of Education shall develop, administer,
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13 and incorporate as a part of the Oklahoma School Testing Program
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14 other assessment programs or procedures including appropriate
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15 accommodations for the assessment of students with disabilities as
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16 required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
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17 20 U.S.C., Section 1400 et seq.
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18 M. N. For purposes of developing and administering alternate
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19 assessments for students with the most significant cognitive
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20 disabilities, the State Board of Education shall not be subject to
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21 subsections D and E of Section 11-103.6a of this title.
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22 N. O. By December 15, 2026, and annually thereafter, the State
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23 Board of Education shall electronically submit a report to the
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24 Legislature containing data collected for the most recently
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Req. No. 3187 Page 10
1 completed school year on the number and demographics of students who
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2 were eligible for advanced mathematics courses, the number and
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3 demographics of students who were placed in advanced mathematics
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4 courses, the number and demographics of students placed in
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5 mathematics intervention courses, and the number and demographics of
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6 students not placed in advanced mathematic courses or mathematic
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7 intervention courses. The report shall include information on the
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8 type and format of advanced mathematic courses and the type and
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9 format of mathematic intervention courses.
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10 O. P. The State Board of Education shall provide guidance on
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11 how to best develop programming and courses to ensure all impacted
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12 students receive rigorous, academically appropriate instruction in
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13 mathematics.
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14 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2026.
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15 SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
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16 of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
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17 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
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18 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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