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A RESOLUTION
21-45
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
March 3, 2015
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Testing Integrity Act of 2013 to allow for the use of computers and cell phones during the administration of computer-based Districtwide assessments as outlined in guidance issued by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, and to clarify that the phrase “the Mayor” includes his or her designated representative.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the "Testing Integrity Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2015".
Sec. 2. (a) During School Year (“SY”) 2014-2015, the District of Columbia Public Schools (“DCPS”) and the District’s Public Charter Schools are implementing next generation assessments, moving from the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System (“DC CAS”) to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (“PARCC”) for English/Language Arts, Composition, and Math, from the DC CAS Science to the Next Generation Science Standards (“NGSS”) Assessment, and from the DC CAS Alt to the National Center and State Collaborative (“NCSC”).
(b) While the DC CAS was administered on paper, the vast majority of students will take the next generation assessments on the computer this school year. Specifically, over 90% of the students taking the PARCC assessment will be doing so through computer-based testing, with all students taking PARCC and the other next generation assessments on the computer by SY 2017-2018.
(c) PARCC is composed of 2 components – a performance based assessment (“PBA”) and an end of year (“EOY”) assessment. The PBA is designed to be taken approximately 75% through the academic year, and the EOY is designed to be taken approximately 90% through the academic year.
(d) During SY 2014-2015, the testing window for the PBA portion of PARCC begins on March 2, 2015, with 7 local education agencies beginning to test on that day. DCPS will begin to test on March 7, 2015, and most District students will complete the PBA portion of the PARCC between March 23and April 3, 2015.
(e) The Testing Integrity Act of 2013, effective October 17, 2013 (D.C. Law 20-27; D.C. Official Code § 38-771.01 et seq.), prohibits individuals with access to Districtwide assessment materials or who are directly involved in the administration of a Districtwide assessment from using cell phones, unapproved electronics, or computer devices during the administration of a Districtwide assessment. Such prohibition effectively prevents the use of computer-based testing in the District.
(f) Additionally the Testing Integrity Act of 2013 prevents the use of cell phones during the administration of a Districtwide assessment. Since many of the computer labs and classrooms being utilized during the administration of PARCC and the other next generation assessments do not have landlines in the room, test administrators, test monitors, or school technology coordinators who may need to contact technology support during the administration of the test will not be able to do so.
(g) Under current law, if technological challenges are encountered during the administration of a computer-based test, and no landlines are present in the classroom in which the test is being administered, an individual would not be able to seek technological support without numerous delays that would prevent the efficient, effective, and timely administration of the assessment.
(h) Thus, it is imperative that the law be amended to allow for computer-based testing and for cell phone use during the testing environment, within a strict set of guidelines issued by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Given the fact that PARCC administration begins this week, an emergency exists and requires the amendment of D.C. Law 20-27.
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Testing Integrity Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
