CHAPTER 157
An Act to amend and reenact § 2 of Chapter 760 of the Acts of Assembly of 2022, relating to Department of Education; Standards of Learning assessment revision work group; consideration of effectiveness of assessments for students with disabilities.
[H 1884]
Approved March 22, 2023
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 2 of Chapter 760 of the Acts of Assembly of 2022 is amended and reenacted as follows:
1. § 2. In developing such revised assessments and plan,
the work group shall consider (i) best practices and innovations in summative
assessments of proficiency from across the nation; (ii) alternative approaches
to current and new assessment items, including subject areas and methods of
grading such items; (iii) assessment items that include open-ended questions,
long-form writing, and other tasks, with student responses scored by the
Department according to statewide scoring rubrics; (iv) plan for pilot
implementation of such assessment items prior to the 2027–2028 school year as
necessary to determine the validity of such items; (v) the process for the
development of a bank of vetted sample assessment items that include a
comprehensive representation of knowledge and skills being assessed; (vi) the
legislative and regulatory changes and funding necessary to implement
alternative approaches considered by the work group; (vii) the effectiveness
of assessments for students with disabilities, including the Virginia Alternate
Assessment Program for those students with the most significant cognitive
disabilities, and the use of those assessments to improve and individualize
instruction; and (vii) (viii) a proposed timeline for
implementation of such new assessments, giving consideration to implementation
prior to the 2027–2028 school year. Nothing in this act shall prohibit the work
group from looking at all forms of assessment. Such work group shall not be
responsible for implementation of such revised assessment items unless there is
further action from the General Assembly.