§ 53A-1-606.7. State Board of Education required to contract for a diagnostic assessment system for reading.

(1) The State Board of Education shall contract with an educational technology provider, selected through a request for proposals process, for a diagnostic assessment system for reading for students in kindergarten through grade three that meets the requirements of this section.

(2) The diagnostic assessment system for reading shall be made available to school districts and charter schools that apply to use the diagnostic assessment for reading beginning in the 2011-12 school year.

(3) The diagnostic assessment system for reading for students in kindergarten through grade three shall:

(a) include benchmark assessments of reading proficiency to be administered at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of kindergarten, grade one, grade two, and grade three;

(b) include formative assessments to be administered every two to four weeks for students who are at high risk of not attaining proficiency in reading;

(c) align with the language arts core curriculum adopted by the State Board of Education; and

(d) include a data analysis component hosted by the contractor that:

(i) has the capacity to generate electronic information immediately and produce individualized student progress reports, class summaries, and class groupings for instruction;

(ii) has the capability of identifying lesson plans that may be used to develop reading skills;

(iii) enables teachers, administrators, and designated supervisors to access reports through a secured password system;

(iv) produces electronic printable reports for parents and administrators; and

(v) has the capability for principals to monitor usage by teachers.

(4)

(a) The benchmark and formative assessments specified in Subsections (3)(a) and (b) shall be available to be downloaded to a portable technology device so that a teacher may be able to sit beside a student as the student is being assessed at any location in the classroom or throughout the school.

(b) After an assessment is downloaded to a portable technology device, the device shall have the capability to operate in stand-alone mode if the Internet connection is lost.

(c) After an assessment is completed and uploaded to the data analysis component, the data analysis component shall be capable of allowing data and reports to be viewed and printed immediately.

(5) The State Board of Education shall:

(a) evaluate the effects of the diagnostic assessment system for reading by comparing the learning gains of students in school districts and charter schools that use the diagnostic assessment system for reading with the learning gains of students in school districts and charter schools that do not use the diagnostic assessment system for reading; and

(b) submit a report on the evaluation to the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee by November 2013.

Enacted by Chapter 372, 2011 General Session