N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8 § 2408.18

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 53, December 31, 2024

Section 2408.18 - Administration of ability-to-benefit tests for purposes of eligibility for awards

(a) Applicability. This section identifies certain ability-to-benefit tests approved by the Board of Regents and the passing scores for such tests, for purposes of eligibility for awards prescribed under sections 661(4)(b) and 661(4)(b-1) of the Education Law. This section also establishes the criteria the president will utilize to determine whether an approved ability-to- benefit test is independently administered and evaluated.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) Testing center means a center that:

(i) is not located at and/or affiliated with an educational institution as defined in this Chapter; or

(ii) is located at an educational institution if the following requirements are met:

(a) the center is responsible for gathering and evaluating the information about individual students for multiple purposes, including appropriate course placement;

(b) the center is independent of the admissions and financial aid processes at the educational institution in which it is located;

(c) the center is staffed by professional employees who have been trained in test administration and Federal guidelines regarding the administration of ability-to-benefit tests and such employees shall not be employed through, or perform the duties of, the admissions, student financial aid, or registrar's offices of the institution; and

(d) the center does not have as its primary purpose the administration of ability-to-benefit tests.

(2) Federally approved ability-to-benefit test means an ability-to-benefit test approved by the Secretary for Federal financial aid purposes.

(c) Ability-to-benefit tests approved by the Board of Regents for eligibility for awards under sections 661(4)(b) and 661(4)(b-1) of the Education Law.

(1) Students shall have a certificate or diploma of graduation from a school providing secondary education within the United States satisfactory to the president, or the equivalent of such certificate or diploma as recognized by the secretary, or have received a passing score on a federally approved ability-to-benefit test identified by the Board of Regents as satisfying the eligibility requirements of this section that has been independently administered and evaluated, as set forth in subdivision (e) of this section.

(2) For purposes of eligibility for awards under sections 661(4)(b) and 661(4)(b-1) of the Education Law, the corporation shall utilize the list of ability-to-benefit tests published by the commissioner that the Board of Regents has identified as satisfactory in determining eligibility for students without a certificate or diploma of graduation from a school providing secondary education within the United States satisfactory to the president or the equivalent of such a certificate or diploma as recognized by the secretary. The identification of such tests shall be without term unless the commissioner determines that a test is no longer satisfactory in determining eligibility for awards or the secretary discontinues Federal recognition of such test.

(d) Satisfactory passing score. For purposes of eligibility for awards under sections 661(4)(b) and 661(4)(b-1) of the Education Law, an educational institution shall submit for approval by the corporation the passing score it proposes to utilize on any ability-to-benefit test approved by the Board of Regents under subdivision (c) of this section, in a form prescribed by the president. Such score shall not be lower than the score set by the secretary and the educational institution shall submit an explanation of its reasons for selecting such passing score and any other information the president may require. Approval of such passing score shall be without term unless the president determines that the passing score is no longer satisfactory in determining eligibility for awards under sections 661(4)(b) and 661(4)(b-1) of the Education Law or the educational institution seeks to change such passing score or no longer offers the approved ability-to-benefit test. In determining whether to approve the proposed score or scores, the president shall take into consideration factors established by the corporation.

(e) Independent administration and evaluation of ability-to-benefit test. For purposes of meeting the eligibility requirements for awards under sections 661(4)(b) and 661(4)(b-1) of the Education Law, the educational institution shall independently administer and evaluate approved ability-to-benefit tests in accordance with the requirements of this subdivision. The corporation will consider an ability-to-benefit test to be independently administered and evaluated if the following requirements are met:

(1) The test is administered at one of the following locations:

(i) a testing center that is not located at and/or affiliated with the educational institution for which the student is seeking enrollment and the test administrator is an employee of such center; or

(ii) an educational institution and the chief executive officer of such educational institution certifies annually that:

(a) the test is administered by a unit of the educational institution that is responsible for other forms of testing or for provision of academic support services, or both, and such unit does not report to officers responsible for admissions or the administration of student financial aid for such educational institution;

(b) the test is administered in an environment that is separate, secure, closed and continuously monitored during testing;

(c) students are required to provide written verification of identity, such as a photo identification, and to sign in prior to taking the test and students are prohibited from bringing into the test area any materials prohibited by the test publisher and are required to leave the test area immediately upon completion of the test;

(d) the test is proctored by professional employees who have been trained in test administration and federal guidelines regarding the administration of ability-to-benefit tests and who are not employed through the admissions, student financial aid, or registrar's offices of the educational institution;

(e) the scoring of ability-to-benefit tests is in accordance with the test publisher's instructions and is overseen by educational institutional employees who are not employed through, or perform the functions of the admissions, student financial aid, or registrar's s offices and such scores are verified by more than one employee;

(f) all tests, test results, and test databases, if any, are kept secure;

(g) the test administrator has no prior financial or ownership interest in the educational institution, its affiliates, or its parent corporation, other than the interest obtained through its agreement to administer the test;

(h) the test administrator is not a current or former member of the board of directors, a current or former employee of or a consultant to a member of the board of directors or a chief executive officer of the educational institution;

(i) the test administrator is not a current student of the educational institution;

(j) the test administrator is not scoring the test; and

(k) the annual certification shall also include the following information relating to the previous academic year: the number of students examined, the number of re-tests administered, the scores on all ability-to-benefit tests for each student examined, the number of students achieving passing scores on such tests, the number of students tested that are enrolling in such educational institution and the success of tested students in terms of retention and graduation.

(2) The corporation will not consider a test independently administered if an educational institution:

(i) compromises test security or testing procedures;

(ii) pays a test administrator a bonus, commission, or any other incentive based upon the test scores or pass rates of its students who take the test; or

(iii) otherwise interferes with the test administrator's independence or test administration.

(3) Any educational institution administering an ability-to-benefit test shall maintain a record for each student who sat for an ability-to-benefit test under this section, including the name of the test taken by such student, the date of the test and the student's scores on such tests. This information shall be retained in the student's permanent record.

(4) Upon request, the educational institution shall provide the corporation with access to test records or other documents related to an audit, investigation or program review of the educational institution.

(5) If the corporation finds that an educational institution has violated the certification procedures or the ability-to-benefit test procedures under this section, the corporation shall have the authority to require an educational institution to employ a testing center independent of such educational institution.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 8 § 2408.18