SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 1

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Michael Padilla

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A NEW STUDENT ASSESSMENT POLICY ALIGNED WITH THE ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT MODELS ALLOWED BY THE FEDERAL EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT.

     WHEREAS, the recently enacted federal Every Student Succeeds Act empowers states to develop their own accountability systems to measure student performance and encourages states to begin pilot projects that use a variety of ways to measure student success; and

     WHEREAS, for states wishing to develop alternative, evidence-based assessment systems, the Every Student Succeeds Act creates an enhanced assessment instruments program, which will provide funding to seven states to develop pilot programs of innovative assessment programs that use a variety of indicators to show how a student is performing; and

     WHEREAS, applications for the pilot programs were accepted through September 22, 2016, and it is anticipated that additional applications will be accepted in the future; and

     WHEREAS, the Every Student Succeeds Act provides states with the flexibility to adopt high-quality academic assessments in mathematics, reading, language arts or science, which may allow students to demonstrate proficiency in the form of portfolios, projects or extended performance tasks and other locally designed formative assessments that, along with standardized tests, create a summative score for a student; and

     WHEREAS, the Every Student Succeeds Act permits local educational agencies to choose a locally selected assessment in lieu of the state assessment, but only if the local educational agency "selects a nationally recognized high school academic assessment that has been approved for use by the state"; and

     WHEREAS, the Every Student Succeeds Act requires each state to add at least one non-academic indicator of school quality or student success as part of its statewide accountability system, opening the door to the possibility of using factors such as student engagement, post-secondary readiness, school climate and safety, career readiness and other metrics to measure student success; and

     WHEREAS, at this time, New Mexico is not yet prepared to take advantage of the flexibility provided in the Every Student Succeeds Act and the associated pilot program funding opportunities; and

     WHEREAS, studies by learning alliance New Mexico and the New Mexico center for school leadership show that there is a demand throughout the state for alternative assessment models that use a variety of approaches to measure a student's progress; and

     WHEREAS, while the New Mexico center for school leadership is working with stakeholders to develop alternatives to the current assessment process, that project is local to Albuquerque, and a broader statewide effort, including participation from the diverse communities in the state, has not been made; and

     WHEREAS, statewide studies, research and analyses are necessary for New Mexico to be ready to propose a pilot program and take advantage of the new flexible assessment possibilities provided by the Every Student Succeeds Act;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the public education department and the legislative education study committee be requested to convene a working group composed of educational practitioners; academic and pedagogical researchers; community, tribal and civic leaders; union members; industry representatives; higher education representatives; and others who have an interest in developing an alternative assessment model to build upon the work that is already taking place in the state and to develop recommendations for a new assessment policy; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be requested to report its recommendations and a proposed new assessment policy to the legislative education study committee by November 2017; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of public education and the director of the legislative education study committee.

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