§ 22-7-1006.3 — State assessments - administration - rules - definitions

Colorado § 22-7-1006.3

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 22: Education
• Art.: Educational Accountability

Text

(1) (a)
Beginning in the 2015-16 school year, the department of education, in collaboration
with local education providers, shall administer the state assessments in the
instructional areas of English language arts, mathematics, science, and social
studies, as adopted by the state board pursuant to section 22-7-1006, as follows:

(I) The department shall administer a state assessment in English language
arts and a state assessment in mathematics to all students enrolled in grades three
through eight in public schools throughout the state.

(II) The department shall administer a state assessment in science to
students enrolled in public elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the
state. The department shall select the specific grades in which to administer the
state science assessment, ensuring that students take the state science
assessment once in elementary school, once in middle school, and once in high
school; except that the department shall not administer the state science
assessment to students enrolled in twelfth grade.

(III) The department shall administer a state assessment in social studies to
students enrolled in public elementary and middle schools throughout the state.
The department shall select the specific grades in which to administer the state
social studies assessment, ensuring that students take the state social studies
assessment once in elementary school and once in middle school. The department
shall administer the social studies assessment required by this subsection (1)(a)(III)
in a representative sample of public schools each school year, ensuring that it
administers the social studies assessment in each public school at least once every
three years. A school district, for one or more of the schools of the school district
that are not included in the representative sample, or a charter school that is not
included in the representative sample, may request that the department administer
the assessment in the district school or charter school. The department shall
administer the social studies assessment in the requested school in the school year
following the school year in which it receives the request.

(b) Repealed.

(c) The department of education, in collaboration with local education
providers, shall administer the state assessments on a schedule that the
department annually sets.

(d) If all or any portion of a state assessment administered pursuant to
subsection (1)(a) of this section requires a student to use a computer to take the
assessment, for a student with a disability who has an individualized education
program, as defined in section 22-20-103, or a section 504 plan, as defined in
section 22-20-123, and whose accommodation requires a pencil-and-paper format,
the department of education must administer the portions of the state assessment
that require a computer in a format that a student may complete using pencil and
paper. Each local education provider shall report to the department the number of
students it enrolls who will take the state assessment in a pencil-and-paper format.

(e) (I) The department of education shall review and update assessment
administration and security policies as necessary to maintain the integrity of the
assessments.

(II) For all or any portion of a state assessment administered pursuant to
subsection (1)(a) of this section that allows a student to use a computer, the
department of education shall develop, review, and update state assessment
administration and security policies for home-based, virtual administration of
computer-based state assessments for students enrolled full time in online schools
or online programs, as defined in section 22-30.7-102. The state assessment
administration and security policies must include, but not be limited to:

(A) Testing personnel qualifications;

(B) Maximum ratio of students to virtual administrator;

(C) Tester verification;

(D) Remote setting requirements, including restriction to other devices or
people with or without internet capabilities;

(E) Monitoring of the test-taker and testing environment;

(F) Device and network requirements;

(G) Parental consent agreements; and

(H) Eligibility for schools to conduct home-based, virtual administration of
state assessments.

(III) The policies established pursuant to subsection (1)(e)(II) of this section
must support the validation activities necessary for the home-based, virtual
administration of state assessments in the 2024-25 school year, with the
expectation of full implementation of home-based, virtual administration of state
assessments no later than the 2025-26 school year that result in valid scores for
the purposes described in subsection (7)(b) of this section.

(IV) To establish the validity of home-based, virtually administered state
assessments beginning in the 2024-25 school year, the department of education
shall conduct validation activities, gather data, and evaluate the comparability of
scores between home-based, virtually administered state assessments and school-based, in-person administered state assessments. To encourage student and
educator participation in validation activities, the department of education may
provide incentives.

(V) As used in this subsection (1)(e), unless the context otherwise requires:

(A) Device means electronic equipment controlled by a central processing
unit, including, but not limited to, desktop or laptop computers, smartphones, or
tablets.

(B) Validation activities means the process of collecting evidence to
evaluate the appropriateness of the interpretations of, uses for, and decisions made
based on state assessment results.

(2) (a) The department of education shall select and the state shall pay the
costs of administering an assessment that is aligned with the state academic
standards for students enrolled in ninth grade and with the assessment selected
pursuant to subsection (2)(a.5) of this section. Every five years, the department
shall request competitive bids and contract for the assessment required in this
subsection (2)(a). Each local education provider shall administer the ninth-grade
assessment during the spring semester on a schedule that the department annually
sets.

(a.5) The department of education shall select and the state shall pay the
costs of administering an assessment that is aligned with the state academic
standards for students enrolled in tenth grade and with the assessment selected
pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section. Every five years, the department shall
request competitive bids and contract for the assessment required in this
subsection (2)(a.5). Each local education provider shall administer the assessment
for students enrolled in tenth grade. Each local education provider shall administer
the tenth-grade assessment on a schedule that the department annually sets.

(b) The department of education shall select and the state shall pay the
costs of administering an assessment that is administered throughout the United
States and relied upon by institutions of higher education, referred to in this section
as the curriculum-based, achievement college entrance exam. Every five years,
the department of education shall request competitive bids and contract for the
curriculum-based, achievement college entrance exam. At a minimum, the
curriculum-based, achievement college entrance exam must test in the areas of
reading, writing, mathematics, and science. Each local education provider shall
administer the curriculum-based achievement college entrance exam for students
enrolled in eleventh grade.

(c) (I) The department of education shall annually schedule a day on which
the curriculum-based, achievement college entrance exam is administered for all
eleventh-grade students enrolled in public high schools throughout the state.

(II) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (c), a
student who can show a need to take the curriculum-based, achievement college
entrance exam on an alternate date on which the exam is administered throughout
the country may take the exam on that alternate date, so long as the alternate date
is before the date scheduled by the department pursuant to subparagraph (I) of this
paragraph (c). The department shall pay all costs associated with a student taking
the curriculum-based, achievement college entrance exam on an alternate date as
provided in this subparagraph (II).

(d) The state board shall adopt rules to ensure that the requirements of the
administrator of the curriculum-based, achievement college entrance exam, such
as a secure environment, are met and to identify the level of need that a student
must demonstrate to take the curriculum-based, achievement college entrance
exam on an alternate date as provided in subparagraph (II) of paragraph (c) of this
subsection (2).

(2.5) As soon as practicable after June 10, 2016, the department of education
shall apply to the federal department of education for innovative assessment and
accountability demonstration authority as authorized in section 1201 of Title I of
part B of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, Pub.L. 114-95, enacted by the
114th Congress. The commissioner of education shall notify the chairs of the
education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any
successor committees, when the department submits the application and when the
department receives the response from the federal department of education
granting or denying the state demonstration authority.

(3) (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this
subsection (3), each student enrolled in a public school is required to take the state
assessments administered pursuant to subsection (1) of this section at the student's
grade level, as determined by the enrolling local education provider.

(b) A child who is enrolled in a nonpublic school or participating in a
nonpublic home-based educational program pursuant to section 22-33-104.5 is not
required to take a state assessment administered pursuant to this section, even
though the child may also be attending a public school for a portion of the school
day and therefore included in the enrollment of a local education provider.

(c) A student who has an individualized education program as provided in
section 22-20-108, and whose individualized education program specifies that the
student takes the state's alternate assessment for students with significant
cognitive disabilities or another assessment approved by rule of the state board, is
not required to take the state assessments administered pursuant to subsection (1)
of this section, but the student must take the alternate assessment or the other
approved assessment. Each local education provider shall report to the department
of education the results of the alternate assessments or other approved
assessments administered to students enrolled by the local education provider. The
department shall aggregate the results separately for each public school.

(d) If a student has an individualized education program as provided in
section 22-20-108 that specifies that the student takes the state assessment, the
enrolling local education provider shall assess the student in each instructional
area for which there is a state test at the student's grade level. If, as part of a
student's individualized education program, the student attends part-time a school
or program away from the school in which the student is enrolled, the local
education provider that enrolls a student, or the administrative unit that the local
education provider is a member of, may designate either the school of residence or
the school of attendance as the school to which the department of education must
assign the student's scores for purposes of measuring the levels of attainment on
the performance indicators specified in section 22-11-204, determining
accreditation categories pursuant to section 22-11-208, and measuring public
school performance pursuant to section 22-11-210. If a student who has an
individualized education program attends school in an administrative unit other
than the student's administrative unit of residence, and there is a contract between
the two administrative units, the administrative units must specify in the contract
the public school to which the department shall assign the student's scores for
purposes of measuring the levels of attainment on the performance indicators,
determining accreditation categories, and measuring public school performance.

(e) To evaluate students, including students who take alternate assessments
or another approved assessment as described in subsection (3)(c) of this section,
the department of education shall provide guidance to local education providers on
how to divide each state assessment into smaller sections, with age-appropriate
time frames for students with disabilities who have an individualized education
program, as defined in section 22-20-103, or a section 504 plan, as defined in
section 22-20-123. The state board may adopt rules to implement this subsection
(3)(e).

(4) (a) (I) The department of education, in collaboration with local education
providers, shall administer the English versions of the state assessments and state
assessments pursuant to subsection (1)(a) of this section, in languages other than
English or Spanish for mathematics, science, and social studies, as may be
appropriate for English language learners, when the number of English language
learners with a specific language background reaches at least one thousand five
hundred students statewide within an assessed grade level. To be eligible for a
translated assessment, English language learners must receive instructional
support for the content area in the proposed test language; except that, a student
who has participated in an English language proficiency program, as provided in
article 24 of this title 22, for more than a total of three school years is ineligible to
take the state assessments in a language other than English. The department of
education shall prioritize translation efforts based on statistical and psychometric
analyses to ensure the validity and reliability of state assessments.

(II) Notwithstanding subsection (4)(a)(I) of this section to the contrary, a local
education provider may administer an assessment adopted by the state board in a
language other than English for up to five years to a student who is an English
language learner if allowed by a waiver received from the federal department of
education pursuant to subsection (4)(c) of this section.

(b) The state board shall revise as necessary and the department of
education shall administer reading and writing assessments in Spanish for students
enrolled in the third and fourth grades. The department of education shall
administer reading and writing assessments in Spanish for students enrolled in
grades five through eight when the number of English language learners who
receive instructional reading and writing services in Spanish reaches at least one
thousand five hundred students statewide within an assessed grade level. The
department of education shall prioritize translation efforts based on statistical and
psychometric analyses to ensure the validity and reliability of the state
assessments.

(c) As soon as practicable after May 20, 2015, the department of education
shall submit to the federal department of education a request for a waiver of
federal law to enable a local education provider to administer a state assessment in
a language other than English for up to five school years to a student who is an
English language learner.

(5) (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, a
student who is an English language learner, as defined in section 22-24-103, and
who has been enrolled in a school in the United States for fewer than twelve
months is not required to take the English language arts assessment required in
subsection (1) of this section. The year in which the student does not take the
English language arts assessment is included as one of the three or five years, as
applicable, in which the student may take the state assessment in his or her native
language as provided in subsection (4) of this section.

(b) If allowed by federal law or by a waiver of federal law received from the
federal department of education pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (5), in
the first twenty-four months in which a student who is an English language learner
is enrolled in a school in the United States and takes the English language arts
assessment, the department of education shall not include the student's scores in
calculating achievement of the performance indicators pursuant to part 2 of article
11 of this title for the local education provider that enrolls the student.

(c) As soon as practicable after May 20, 2015, the department of education
shall submit to the federal department of education a request for a waiver of
federal law as necessary to implement paragraph (b) of this subsection (5).

(6) The department of education, by policy, may determine whether the
scores of one or more groups of students are not appropriate to be used in
measuring the levels of attainment on the performance indicators, as defined in
section 22-11-103. A policy that the department adopts pursuant to this subsection
(6) must be in accordance with the requirements of federal statutes and
regulations.

(7) (a) The department of education shall, no later than June 1 of each year or
as soon as practicable, provide to each local education provider the results of all of
the state assessments that the local education provider administers and make
available to local education providers the state assessment data of individual
students that is required to measure academic progress over time. The department
shall align the disaggregation of state assessment results with the exclusion of
scores permitted by subsection (6) of this section.

(b) The department of education shall release to the public only those state
assessment results that the department deems valid. The department shall not rely
on state assessment results that the department has deemed invalid in
performance calculations when assigning accreditation levels or school plan types,
as described in article 11 of this title, to a local education provider. At any time that
the department releases state assessment results to the public, in addition to
releasing the results of the English versions of the state assessments, the
department shall release the results of any state assessments administered in
languages other than English.

(c) At the request of a local education provider, the entity that is responsible
for developing a state assessment must return to the local education provider the
student responses to the essay portion and appropriate paragraphs that are
released from the English language arts portion of the state assessment and the
results of all requested state assessments. The requesting local education provider
must pay the entity for the actual cost of photocopying and mailing the English
language arts portion of the state assessment. The requesting local education
provider shall maintain the confidentiality of all state assessment results that it
receives and may use the essay portion and appropriate paragraphs only to improve
an individual student's writing skills.

(d) Each local education provider shall include the results of the state
assessments administered pursuant to subsection (1) of this section on each
student's final report card for the applicable school year and include the results in
the student's permanent academic record; except that a local education provider
may include state assessment data on a student's final report card only if the local
education provider has sufficient time to process the state assessment results after
they are released.

(8) (a) Each local education provider shall adopt policies to ensure that
appropriate personnel within each school district and each institute charter school
timely share with and explain to the parent or legal guardian of each student
enrolled in the school district or the institute charter school the student's state
assessment results returned to the student's public school pursuant to subsection
(7) of this section.

(b) The department of education shall create, maintain, and make available
to local education providers and parents or legal guardians, upon request, a list of
resources and programs that public schools and parents or legal guardians may
access to assist students in addressing specific learning issues identified by the
state assessment results provided pursuant to this section.

(9) (a) The department of education shall permit a nonpublic school to
administer the state assessments required by subsection (1) of this section and
shall provide to the nonpublic school the results of any state assessments
administered. The nonpublic school must pay all costs associated with
administering and providing results for the state assessments.

(b) A local education provider, upon the request of the parent or legal
guardian of a child who is participating in a nonpublic home-based educational
program pursuant to section 22-33-104.5, must permit the child to take a state
assessment required by subsection (1) of this section and must provide to the
parent or legal guardian of the child the results of state assessments administered.
The parent or legal guardian of the child must pay all costs associated with
administering and providing results for the state assessments.

(10) For each fiscal year, the general assembly shall appropriate money in
the annual general appropriation act to the department of education to fund
administration of the state assessments as described in this section, including
administration of the ninth-grade assessment, the tenth-grade assessment, and the
curriculum-based, achievement college entrance exam described in subsection (2)
of this section.

(11) Repealed.

(12) (a) The department of education shall create and distribute information
to public schools, school districts, and the institute that communicates to parents
and guardians the importance of state assessments in supporting students,
educators, public schools, school districts, and the institute.

(b) In the information described in subsection (12)(a) of this section, the
department of education shall provide guidance to public schools, school districts,
the institute, and educators on how to encourage students to participate in state
assessments to the extent allowable under state and federal law. The department
of education shall provide guidance to local education providers on what public
schools, school districts, the institute, and educators cannot do that would
discourage student participation in state assessments.

(c) As used in this subsection (12), unless the context otherwise requires:

(I) Institute means the state charter school institute created pursuant to
section 22-30.5-503.

(II) Public school has the same meaning as provided in section 22-1-101 and
includes, but is not limited to, a district charter school, an institute charter school,
BOCES, or an online school, as defined in section 22-30.7-102.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2015: Entire section added, (HB 15-1323), ch. 204, p. 703, � 1, effective May 20; IP(1)(a) amended and (1)(a)(III) added, (SB 15-056), ch. 203, p. 701, � 2, effective May 20. L. 2016: (2.5) added, (HB 16-1234), ch. 337, p. 1370, � 3, effective June 10. L. 2017: (1)(a)(I), (2)(a), and (10) amended, (1)(b) repealed, and (2)(a.5) added, (HB 17-1181), ch. 385, p. 1997, � 1, effective June 6. L. 2020: (1)(a)(III) amended, (HB 20-1135), ch. 284, p. 1385, � 1, effective September 14. L. 2021: (11) added, (HB 21-1161), ch. 10, p. 57, � 1, effective March 16. L. 2022: (1)(d) amended, (HB 22-1390), ch. 237, p. 1757, � 30, effective May 26. L. 2024: (1)(e) amended, (SB 24-070), ch. 408, p. 2804, � 2, effective June 5. L. 2025: (1)(d), (2)(b), (4)(a), (4)(b), (7)(a), and (8)(a) amended and (3)(e) and (12) added, (HB 25-1278), ch. 235, p. 1118, � 2, effective May 23.