S.B. 28 Enrolled

UTAH PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR
STUDENTS AMENDMENTS
2001 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Howard A. Stephenson
L. Steven Poulton
Karen Hale
Ron Allen
Dan R. Eastman
David H. Steele

This act modifies provisions related to the State System of Public Education to address issues
related to the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students (U-PASS). The act
expands the categories for disaggregating student performance data to include limited
English proficiency. The act requires each local school board to provide its staff with a
professional development program to effectively implement and maintain U-PASS at the
school and classroom levels. The act requires additional data to be reported on the annual
school performance report on issues related to reading proficiency, student absenteeism,
staff qualifications, average daily attendance, and disaggregated enrollment totals. The act
also requires electronic reporting of additional data related to test scores and trends, grade
averages, volunteerism, student discipline, and fee waivers. This act takes effect July 1, 2001,
except that the school performance report modifications take effect July 1, 2002.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
53A-1-603, as last amended by Chapter 219, Laws of Utah 2000
53A-1-605, as last amended by Chapter 219, Laws of Utah 2000
53A-1-606, as last amended by Chapter 219, Laws of Utah 2000
53A-3-602.5 (Effective 07/01/02), as enacted by Chapter 219, Laws of Utah 2000
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 53A-1-603 is amended to read:
53A-1-603. Duties of State Board of Education.
(1) The State Board of Education shall:
(a) require each school district to implement the Utah Performance Assessment System

for Students, hereafter referred to as U-PASS;
(b) require the state superintendent of public instruction to submit and recommend
criterion-referenced and norm-referenced achievement tests, a tenth grade basic skills competency
test, and a direct writing assessment for grades 6 and 9 to the board for approval and adoption and
distribution to each school district by the state superintendent;
(c) develop an assessment method to uniformly measure statewide performance, school
district performance, and school performance of students in grades 1 through 12 in mastering basic
skills courses; and
(d) provide for the state to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress
state-by-state comparison testing program.
(2) Under U-PASS, the state office shall annually require that each district administer:
(a) a statewide norm-referenced test to all students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11;
(b) statewide criterion-referenced tests in all grade levels and courses in basic skill areas of
the core curriculum;
(c) a direct writing assessment to all students in grades 6 and 9, with the first assessment to
be administered during the 2001-02 school year; and
(d) a tenth grade basic skills competency test as detailed in Section 53A-1-611 , with the first
test to be administered during the 2002-03 school year.
(3) The board shall adopt rules for the conduct and administration of U-PASS to include the
following:
(a) the computation of student performance based on information that is disaggregated with
respect to race, ethnicity, gender, limited English proficiency, and [socioeconomic status] those
students who qualify for free or reduced price school lunch;
(b) security features to maintain the integrity of the system, which could include statewide
uniform testing dates, multiple test forms, and test administration protocols;
(c) the exemption of student test scores, by exemption category, such as limited English
proficiency, mobility, and students with disabilities, with the percent or number of student test scores
exempted being publically reported at a district level;

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(d) compiling of criterion-referenced and direct writing test scores and test score averages
at the classroom level to allow for:
(i) an annual review of those scores by parents of students and professional and other
appropriate staff at the classroom level at the earliest point in time and consistent with the timeline
of the phase-in referred to in Sections 53A-1-602 and [ 53A-1-603 ] this section, but no later than by
the end of the school year beginning with the 2003-04 school year;
(ii) the assessment of year-to-year student progress in specific classes, courses, and subjects;
[and]
(iii) a teacher to review, prior to the beginning of a new school year for the 2003-04 school
year and for each school year thereafter, test scores from the previous school year of students who
have been assigned to the teacher's class for the new school year; and
(iv) allowing a school district to have its tests administered and scored electronically to
accelerate the review of test scores and their usefulness to parents and educators under Subsections
(3)(d)(i), (ii), and (iii), without violating the integrity of U-PASS; and
(e) providing that:
(i) scores on the tests and assessments required under [Subsections] Subsection (2)[(a) and]
(b) shall be considered in determining a student's academic grade for the appropriate course and
whether a student shall advance to the next grade level; and
(ii) the student's score on the tenth grade basic skills competency test shall be recorded on
the student's transcript of credits.
(4) The board shall make an annual report to the Legislature's Education Interim Committee
on the timelines required under Subsections (3)(d)(i) and (iii) that begin with the 2003-04 school
year to include recommendations for any necessary modifications to the timelines.
Section 2. Section 53A-1-605 is amended to read:
53A-1-605. Analysis of results -- Submission of annual budget -- Staff professional
development.
(1) The State Board of Education, through the state superintendent of public instruction,
shall develop a plan to analyze the results of the U-PASS scores for all grade levels and courses

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required under Section 53A-1-603 and the student behavior indicators referred to in Subsection
53A-1-602 (4)(e).
(2) The plan shall include components designed to:
(a) assist school districts and individual schools to use the results of the analysis in planning,
evaluating, and enhancing programs within the district; and
(b) for the 2003-04 school year and for each year thereafter, identify schools not achieving
state-established acceptable levels of student performance in order to assist those schools in raising
their student performance levels.
(3) The plan shall include provisions for statistical reporting of data as follows:
(a) norm-referenced tests results shall be reported at the state, district, school, and grade
levels, and shall include actual levels of performance on tests; and
(b) criterion-referenced tests results shall be reported at state, district, school, and grade or
course levels, and shall include actual levels of performance on tests.
(4) (a) The State Board of Education shall submit to the Legislature, annually, a budget to
implement and maintain U-PASS.
(b) As part of the budget recommendation, the state board shall include:
(i) evaluation of U-PASS and proposed modifications if appropriate; [and]
(ii) anticipated costs for staff professional development programs required to effectively
implement U-PASS at the school and classroom levels; and
[(ii)] (iii) resources required to assist schools identified under Subsection (2)(b) in raising
their performance levels.
(5) Each local school board shall provide for:
(a) district evaluation of the U-PASS test results and use of the evaluations in setting goals
and establishing programs for the district and each school within the district[.]; and
(b) a professional development program that:
(i) is funded in whole or in part from monies received under Subsection (4)(b)(ii); and
(ii) provides teachers, principals, and other professional staff employed by the school district
with the training required to successfully establish and maintain U-PASS.

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Section 3. Section 53A-1-606 is amended to read:
53A-1-606. Mastery of reading skills.
(1) (a) The Utah Performance Assessment System for Students in grades 1 through [6] 10
shall be used to determine whether the planned instruction has resulted in the student's mastery of
reading skills.
(b) As used in Subsection (1)(a), planned instruction shall include instructional practices of:
(i) early and explicit teaching of phonetic decoding skills;
(ii) continuous and frequent exposure to a wide range of quality literature;
(iii) writing to foster and reinforce word recognition, language structure, and experience; and
(iv) regular and adequate time to read a wide variety of materials across the curriculum.
(c) (i) If, through U-PASS, the school finds the student seriously deficient in one or more
of these basic skills, it shall provide remedial assistance to help the student overcome the deficiency
and attain reading proficiency appropriate to the student's age and ability.
(ii) The remediation program shall include a plan to bring the student up to the appropriate
reading level and an opportunity for parents to receive materials and guidance so that they will be
able to assist in the remediation process and support their students' progress toward literacy.
(d) U-PASS shall incorporate assessment mechanisms developed by the State Board of
Education, through the state superintendent of public instruction, as well as commercially produced
testing material selected by the board under Subsection 53A-1-603 (1).
(2) The local board may also administer other tests.
Section 4. Section 53A-3-602.5 (Effective 07/01/02) is amended to read:
53A-3-602.5 (Effective 07/01/02). School performance report -- Components -- Annual
filing.
(1) The State Board of Education in collaboration with the state's 40 school districts shall
develop a school performance report to inform the state's residents of the quality of schools and the
educational achievement of students in the state's public education system.
(2) The report shall be written and include the following statistical data for each school in
each school district, as applicable, and shall also aggregate the data at the district and state level:

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(a) except as provided in Subsection (2)(a)(ii), test scores [and trends] over the previous
[four years] year on:
(i) norm-referenced achievement tests;
(ii) criterion-referenced tests beginning with the 2001-02 school year, to include the scores
aggregated for all students by grade level or course for the previous two years and an indication of
whether there was a sufficient magnitude of gain in the scores between the two years;
(iii) writing assessments required under Subsection 53A-1-603 (2)(c); and
(iv) tenth grade basic skills competency tests required under Subsection 53A-1-603 (2)(d);
(b) college entrance examinations, including the number and percentage of each graduating
class taking the examinations for the previous four years;
(c) advanced placement and concurrent enrollment data, including:
(i) the number of students taking advanced placement and concurrent enrollment courses;
(ii) the number and percent of students taking a specific advanced placement course who
take advanced placement tests to receive college credit for the course;
(iii) of those students taking the test referred to in Subsection (2)(c)(ii), the number and
percent who pass the test; and
(iv) of those students taking a concurrent enrollment course, the number and percent of those
who receive college credit for the course;
(d) the number and percent of students [in elementary schools] through grade ten reading
at or above grade level;
(e) the number and percent of students [classified as "chronic absentees", as defined by State
Board of Education rule] who were absent from school ten days or more during the school year;
(f) achievement gaps that reflect the differences in achievement of various student groups
as defined by State Board of Education rule;
(g) the number and percent of "student dropouts" within the district as defined by State
Board of Education rule;
(h) course-taking patterns and trends in secondary schools;
(i) student mobility;

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(j) staff qualifications, to include years of professional service and the number and percent
of staff who have a degree or endorsement in their assigned teaching area and the number and
percent of staff who have a graduate degree;
(k) the number and [percentage] percent of parents who participate in SEP, SEOP, and
parent-teacher conferences;
(l) the number and [percentage] percent of students who participate in extracurricular
activities, to include a statement on the amount of class time missed by students and faculty for those
activities which require them to miss normal class time during the school day and the total number
of individuals involved in missing normal class time; [and]
(m) average class size by grade level and subject[.];
(n) average daily attendance as defined by State Board of Education rule, including every
period in secondary schools; and
(o) enrollment totals disaggregated with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, limited English
proficiency, and those students who qualify for free or reduced price school lunch.
[(3) During the year 2000 interim, the State Board of Education shall work with the Task
Force on Learning Standards and Accountability in Public Education, the Legislative Education
Interim Committee, and the Strategic Planning for Public and Higher Education Committee to
determine if additional statistical data should be collected and reported under Subsection (2), to
include the following:]
(3) The State Board of Education, in collaboration with the state's school districts, shall
provide for the collection and electronic reporting of the following data for each school in each
school district:
(a) test scores and trends over the previous four years on the tests referred to in Subsection
(2)(a);
[(a)] (b) the average grade given in each math, science, and English [class] course in grades
9 through 12 for which criteria-referenced tests are required under Subsection 53A-1-603 (2)(b);
[(b)] (c) the number of volunteers and volunteer hours;
[(c)] (d) incidents of student discipline as defined by State Board of Education rule[;],

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including suspensions, expulsions, and court referrals; and
(e) the number and percent of students receiving fee waivers and the total dollar amount of
fees waived.
[(d) parent surveys;]
[(e) student surveys;]
[(f) enrollment totals and trends;]
[(g) average daily attendance, including every period in secondary schools;]
[(h) suspensions;]
[(i) the number and percent of students who qualify for free and reduced price school lunch;]
[(j) for secondary schools, grade distributions and average student GPA by school and
teacher;]
[(k) total reading hours at home;]
[(l) keyboarding skills;]
[(m) physical fitness;]
[(n) portfolios;]
[(o) safe school violations; and]
[(p) court referrals.]
(4) (a) The State Board of Education shall adopt common definitions and data collection
procedures for local school boards to use in collecting and forwarding the data required under
[Subsection] Subsections (2) and (3) to the state superintendent of public instruction.
(b) The state board, through the state superintendent of public instruction, shall adopt
standard reporting forms and provide a common template for collecting and reporting the data, which
shall be used by all school districts.
(c) The state superintendent shall use the automated decision support system proposed for
authorization by the Legislature in the 2000 General Session in Subsection 53A-1-301 (2)(e) to
collect and report the data required under [Subsection] Subsections (2) and (3), contingent upon
approval of the proposal and its required appropriation.
(5) (a) For the school year ending June 30, 2003, and for each year thereafter, the state board,

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through the state superintendent of public instruction, shall issue its report annually by October 1 to
include the required data from the previous school year or years as indicated in [Subsection]
Subsections (2) and (3).
(b) The state board shall determine the nature and extent of longitudinal data to be reported
under Subsections (2)[(a),](b), (c), and (d) and (3)(a) during the first three years of the reporting
program, with the baseline reporting year beginning July 1, 2002 and ending June 30, 2003.
(6) (a) Each local school board shall receive a written or an electronic copy of the report
from the state superintendent of public instruction containing the data for that school district in a
clear summary format and have it distributed, on a one per household basis, to the residence of
students enrolled in the school district before November 30th of each year.
(b) Each local school board and the state board shall have a complete report of the statewide
data available for copying or in an electronic format at their respective offices.
Section 5. Effective date.
This act takes effect July 1, 2001, except that Section 53A-3-602.5 takes effect July 1, 2002.

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