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I
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 4630
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to clarify
when certain academic assessments shall be administered.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 8, 2019
Mr. ZELDIN (for himself and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
A BILL
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 to clarify when certain academic assessments
shall be administered.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Testing Im-
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provement and Accountability Act’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds the following:
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(1) Prior to 2001, Federal law required States
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only to test students once per grade span.
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(2) Following the enactment of the No Child
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Left Behind Act of 2001, which amended the Ele-
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mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
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Federal education policy has placed an increased
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emphasis on testing assessments, requiring students
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to undergo standardized testing every year in grades
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3 through 8.
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(3) Reducing the frequency of federally required
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testing will allow more time for student learning and
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empower States and school districts to have more
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local control over the frequency of testing.
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(4) Students will have more time to receive one-
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on-one instruction and develop critical thinking and
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problem-solving skills through a well-rounded edu-
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cation and curriculum.
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(5) Moving away from the Federal practice of
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annually ‘‘teaching to the test’’ will empower edu-
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cators to provide instruction in a way that best in-
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spires and prepares our country’s next generation of
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leaders.
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(6) With grade span testing, our educators will
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be more able to focus on those students who are
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most in need but who also lose the most class time
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preparing for annual tests.
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(7) Grade span testing will allow States the
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flexibility to develop more meaningful, tailored as-
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sessment systems that provide valid, reliable data.
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(8) The yearly testing currently required by
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Federal law should be replaced with grade span test-
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ing.
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SEC. 3. ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS.
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(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 1111(b)(2)(B)(v)(I) of
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the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
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U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(B)(v)) is amended to read as follows:
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‘‘(v)(I) in the case of mathematics
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and reading or language arts, be adminis-
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tered not less than once during—
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‘‘(aa) grades 3 through 5;
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‘‘(bb) grades 6 through 9; and
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‘‘(cc) grades 10 through 12;’’.
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(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
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subsection (a) shall take effect on the first August 2 after
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the date of enactment of this Act.
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