Section 388.1704i - Implementation of a benchmark assessment system for 2023-2024; K to 8 pupils(1) From the state school aid fund money appropriated under section 11, there is allocated for 2022-2023 an amount not to exceed $11,500,000.00 to districts and intermediate districts with enrolled K to 8 pupils to begin implementation of a benchmark assessment system for the 2023-2024 school year. All of the following apply to the benchmark assessment system described in this subsection: (a) The system must provide for all of the following: (i) That, within the first 9 weeks of the 2023-2024 school year, the district or intermediate district shall administer 1 or more benchmark assessments provided by a provider approved under subsection (6), benchmark assessments described in subdivision (b), or local benchmark assessments, or any combination thereof, to all pupils in grades K to 8 to measure proficiency in reading and mathematics.(ii) That, in addition to the benchmark assessment or benchmark assessments administered under subparagraph (i), by not later than the last day of the 2023-2024 school year, the district or intermediate district shall administer 1 or more benchmark assessments provided by a provider approved under subsection (6), benchmark assessments described in subdivision (b), or local benchmark assessments, or any combination thereof, to all pupils in grades K to 8 to measure proficiency in reading and mathematics.(b) A district or intermediate district may administer 1 or more of the following benchmark assessments toward meeting the requirements under subdivision (a): (i) A benchmark assessment in reading for students in grades K to 9 that contains progress monitoring tools and enhanced diagnostic assessments.(ii) A benchmark assessment in math for students in grades K to 8 that contains progress monitoring tools.(c) The system must provide that, to the extent practicable, if a district or intermediate district administers a benchmark assessment or benchmark assessments under this section, the district or intermediate district shall administer the same benchmark assessment or benchmark assessments provided by a provider approved under subsection (6), benchmark assessment or benchmark assessments described in subdivision (b), or local benchmark assessment or local benchmark assessments that it administered to pupils in previous school years, as applicable.(d) The system must provide that, if a district or intermediate district administers a benchmark assessment or benchmark assessments under this section, the district or intermediate district shall provide each pupil's data from the benchmark assessment or benchmark assessments, as available, to the pupil's parent or legal guardian within 30 days of administering the benchmark assessment or benchmark assessments.(e) The system must provide that, if a local benchmark assessment or local benchmark assessments are administered under subdivision (a), the district or intermediate district shall report to the department and the center, in a form and manner prescribed by the center, the local benchmark assessment or local benchmark assessments that were administered and how that assessment or those assessments measure changes, including any losses, as applicable, in learning, and the district's or intermediate district's plan for addressing any losses in learning.(f) The system must provide that, by not later than 30 days after a benchmark assessment or benchmark assessments are administered under subdivision (a)(ii), or within a time frame specified by the department, the district or intermediate district shall send benchmark assessment data, including grade level, student demographics, and mode of instruction, to the department in a form and manner prescribed by the department, from all benchmark assessments administered in the 2023-2024 school year, excluding data from a local benchmark assessment, as applicable. If available, the data described in this subdivision must include information concerning pupil growth from fall 2023 to spring 2024.(2) To receive funding under this section, a district or intermediate district must apply for the funding in a form and manner prescribed by the department.(3) The department shall pay an amount equal to $12.50 per membership pupil in grades K to 8 in the district or intermediate district to each district or intermediate district that applies for funding under this section.(4) The department shall make 1 of the benchmark assessments provided by a provider approved under subsection (6) available to districts and intermediate districts at no cost to the districts and intermediate districts for purposes of meeting the requirements under this section. The benchmark assessment described in this subsection must meet all of the following:(a) Be aligned to the content standards of this state.(b) Complement the state's summative assessment system.(c) Be internet-delivered and include a standards-based assessment.(d) Provide information on pupil achievement with regard to learning content required in a given year or grade span.(e) Provide timely feedback to pupils and teachers.(f) Be nationally normed.(g) Provide information to educators about student growth and allow for multiple testing opportunities.(5) By not later than November 15, 2024, the department shall submit a report to the house and senate appropriations committees, the house and senate appropriations subcommittees on school aid, and the house and senate fiscal agencies regarding the benchmark assessment data received under this section, disaggregated by grade level and demographic subgroup for each district and intermediate district. If information concerning pupil growth is included in the data described in this subsection, it must be incorporated in the report described in this subsection.(6) The department shall approve at least 4 but not more than 6 providers of benchmark assessments for the purposes of this section. The department shall inform districts and intermediate districts of all of the providers approved under this subsection in an equitable manner. The benchmark assessments, with the exclusion of the benchmark assessment described in subsection (4), provided by approved providers under this subsection must meet all of the following: (a) Be aligned to the content standards of this state.(b) Complement the state's summative assessment system.(c) Be internet-delivered and include a standards-based remote, in-person, or both remote and in-person assessment using a computer-adaptive model to target the instructional level of each pupil.(d) Provide information on pupil achievement with regard to learning content required in a given year or grade span.(e) Provide immediate feedback to pupils and teachers.(f) Be nationally normed.(g) Provide multiple measures of growth and provide for multiple testing opportunities.Amended by 2023, Act 103,s 168, eff. 7/21/2023.Added by 2022, Act 144,s 124, eff. 10/1/2022.