Amendment ID: S2025-65-R1

Redraft Amendment 65

PARCC Review

Messrs. Tarr, deMacedo and Fattman, Ms. O'Connor Ives and Mr. Ross move to amend the bill by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:-

"Section XX Notwithstanding any law rule or regulation to the contrary, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall evaluate the feasibility of adopting the standardized test known as the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers,or PARCC, as a replacement for the currently administered Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test and/or an updated MCAS test or variation thereof. In conducting such evaluation, the department shall consider first and foremost what is in the best interests of Massachusetts students, and shall also analyze and consider the logistical, financial, pedagogical and administrative impacts on school districts, educators, and the Commonwealth of replacing the MCAS test or an updated or modernized version thereof with the PARCC test. Said evaluation shall also include cost estimates and existing and potential funding sources for the implementation of the PARCC test and the realignment and redesign of curriculum associated with the PARCC test, including but not limited to the purchase and deployment of technology. The department shall provide to the general court with the following: (1) an assessment of the costs to realign the educational curriculum of the commonwealth, developed pursuant to the act, to the standards adopted by the board of elementary and secondary education, herein known as the board, in 2010, including but not limited to the costs to the department, the costs to the board, and the costs to each individual school district in the commonwealth. Such costs shall include, but not be limited to: the cost of developing and implementing any new assessment, such as the Partnership for Assessment for Readiness for College and Career; professional development; teacher and administration evaluations; and any equipment, hardware, software, or technology upgrades needed for compliance with said new assessment; (2) any additional costs associated with data mapping of students in the commonwealth, as well as the administrative costs required to collect, maintain and protect the confidentiality of such data collection; (3) the procedure required to repeal the 2010 decision of the board to adopt the standards; provided further that the commissioner shall provide a report on the impacts of the adoption of the standards on the commonwealth’s current standards with particular regard to the high ranking of Massachusetts students on the National Assessment of Education Progress and international standardized tests, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment. In conducting such an assessment, the department shall conduct not fewer than four public hearings to receive testimony from members of the public, including parents, teachers, and administrators.

The department shall not take action to adopt or implement any alternative to the MCAS test for school districts in the Commonwealth unless and until a report detailing the results of said evaluation is filed with the clerks of the House and Senate, the Joint Committee on Education, and the House and Senate Committee on Ways and Means."