HOUSE BILL NO. 4310

February 23, 2021, Introduced by Reps. Koleszar, Brenda Carter, Stone, Hertel, Breen, Cambensy, Shannon, Clemente, Young, Coleman, Camilleri, Brabec, Sowerby, Pohutsky, Bolden, Weiss, Manoogian, Rabhi, Anthony, Aiyash, Kuppa, Tate, Thanedar, O'Neal, Brixie, Neeley, Garza, Scott, Hope, Cavanagh, Cherry, LaGrand, Puri and Hammoud and referred to the Committee on Education.

A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled

"The state school aid act of 1979,"

by amending section 104b (MCL 388.1704b), as amended by 2018 PA 265.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 104b. (1) In Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, in order to receive state aid under this article, a district shall must comply with this section and shall must administer the Michigan merit examination to pupils in grade 11, and to pupils in grade 12 who did not take the complete Michigan merit examination in grade 11, as provided in this section. However, subject to federal law, a district is not required to administer the Michigan merit examination as described in this subsection in the 2020-2021 school year to receive state aid under this article. The Michigan merit examination consists of a college entrance test, work skills test, and the summative assessment known as the Michigan student test of educational progress (M-STEP).

(2) For the purposes of this section, the department of technology, management, and budget shall contract with 1 or more providers to develop, supply, and score the Michigan merit examination. The Michigan merit examination shall must consist of all of the following:

(a) Assessment instruments that measure English language arts, mathematics, reading, and science, and are used by the majority of colleges and universities in this state for entrance purposes. This may include 1 or more writing components. In selecting assessment instruments to fulfill the requirements of this subdivision, the department may consider the degree to which those assessment instruments are aligned to this state's content standards.

(b) One or more tests from 1 or more test developers that assess a pupil's ability to apply at least reading and mathematics skills in a manner that is intended to allow employers to use the results in making employment decisions. The department of technology, management, and budget and the superintendent shall ensure that any test or tests selected under this subdivision have all the components necessary to allow a pupil to be eligible to receive the results of a nationally recognized evaluation of workforce readiness if the pupil's test performance is adequate.

(c) A social studies component.

(d) Any other component that is necessary to obtain the approval of the United States Department of Education to use the Michigan merit examination for the purposes of the no child left behind act of 2001, Public Law 107-110, or the every student succeeds act, Public Law 114-95.

(3) In addition to all other requirements of this section, all of the following apply to the Michigan merit examination:

(a) The department of technology, management, and budget and the superintendent shall ensure that any contractor used for scoring the Michigan merit examination supplies an individual report for each pupil that will identify for the pupil's parents and teachers whether the pupil met expectations or failed to meet expectations for each standard, to allow the pupil's parents and teachers to assess and remedy problems before the pupil moves to the next grade.

(b) The department of technology, management, and budget and the superintendent shall ensure that any contractor used for scoring, developing, or processing the Michigan merit examination meets quality management standards commonly used in the assessment industry, including at least meeting level 2 of the capability maturity model developed by the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University for the first year the Michigan merit examination is offered to all grade 11 pupils and at least meeting level 3 of the capability maturity model for subsequent years.

(c) The department of technology, management, and budget and the superintendent shall ensure that any contract for scoring, administering, or developing the Michigan merit examination includes specific deadlines for all steps of the assessment process, including, but not limited to, deadlines for the correct testing materials to be supplied to schools and for the correct results to be returned to schools, and includes penalties for noncompliance with these deadlines.

(d) The superintendent shall ensure that the Michigan merit examination meets all of the following:

(i) Is designed to test pupils on this state's content standards in all subjects tested.

(ii) Complies with requirements of the no child left behind act of 2001, Public Law 107-110 or the every student succeeds act, Public Law 114-95.

(iii) Is consistent with the code of fair testing practices in education prepared by the Joint Committee on Testing Practices of the American Psychological Association.

(iv) Is factually accurate. If the superintendent determines that a question is not factuall