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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Miera

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/3/08

2/7/08 HB 503

SHORT TITLE College & Workplace Readiness Assessments

SB

ANALYST Wilson

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

NFI*

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

* There is $4,000.0 in the General Appropriation Act as a special non-recurring appropriation.

Also, funding for the requirements in this bill is in the State Equalization Guarantees.

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

Or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Implementation

Costs (PED) $2,764.9 $2,564.9 $2,564.9 $7,894.7 Recurring

General

Fund

Implementation

Costs (Districts) $300.0 $300.0 $300.0

$ 900.0 Recurring

General

Fund

Development

Costs (PED) $900.0

$ 900.0 Non-Recurring

General

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates SB 460

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Finance & Administration (DFA)

Higher Education Department (HED)

Public Education Department (PED)

House Bill 503– Page

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SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 503

amends section 22-2C-4.1 NMSA 1978. It changes high school and college

readiness assessments in grades 9 and 10 to short cycle assessments in reading, language arts and

math, and will allow students to choose a college readiness assessment, a work-place readiness

assessment or an alternative demonstration of competency using standards-based indicators in

the fall of grade 11.

HB 503 allows financial literacy to be offered as an elective to high school students. Finally, the

bill allows the New Mexico Standards-Based Assessment to be used as the high school

graduation exam.

The bill eliminates the deadline for the establishment of rule for the NM Diploma of Excellence

and high school competency exam.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

PED estimates of costs to implement the program are shown in the table above. PED also

submits the bill should have an emergency appropriation of nearly $3,000,000 in order to have

the diagnostic assessments in grades 9 and 10 ready by fall of 2008.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

DFA provided the following:

The 2007 Legislature passed and Governor Bill Richardson signed SB 56, High School

Redesign. The purpose of this legislation was to increase the rigor of high school

graduation requirements and coursework, as well increase the support given to high

school students and teachers in ensuring that New Mexico’s high school graduates are

prepared for college and the world of work.

One of the primary components of the High School Redesign legislation was the creation

of a high school readiness assessment in grade 9, a college readiness assessment in grade

10 and a workplace readiness assessment in grade 11. This legislation was designed to

ensure that students and teachers will have timely, accurate information about student’s

ability to meet high school standards and be ready for college level coursework and the

workplace. HB 503 proposes to change the high school and college readiness

assessments to short cycle diagnostic assessments in reading, language arts and

mathematics, which will be given a minimum of three times per year.

Short cycle diagnostic assessments are a type of assessment known as “formative"

assessment—which is designed to mark student progress throughout the school year in

meeting educational standards. It is designed to be diagnostic—and to highlight areas for

improvement during the course of the school year. This is different from the New

Mexico Standards Based Assessment, which is a “summative" assessment, which is

designed to measure student achievement at the end of a school year.

House Bill 503– Page

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One of the advantages of using the short cycle assessments proposed in HB 503 is that

they will be administered three times per year, which will allow teachers more

opportunities to “correct the course" for individual students who are not making progress

toward mastery of the standards.

However, one serious concern is that the language of HB 503 does not provide that these

short cycle assessments are aligned to the New Mexico education standards, nor does it

require that these assessments be designed to measure student progress towards these

standards. It is critical that any assessments used be aligned to New Mexico’s standards

in order to determine if students are making progress towards mastery of those standards.

Another concern is that HB 503 allows for the use of different short cycle assessments by

districts. Proposed language in Section E of 22.2C.4.1 NMSA 1978 will allow the PED

to approve already developed commercial short cycle assessments, or approve short cycle

assessments already in use in school districts and charter schools. Allowing multiple

short cycle assessments to be used will limit the PED and the legislature’s ability to

monitor whether or not students are making progress towards meeting standards, beyond

what is currently in place with the NMSBA. Also, ensuring that assessments meet the

technical quality and rigor required to measure student progress towards meeting

standards is a time and resource consuming process, one that requires significant levels of

assessment expertise. Use of a uniform statewide short cycle assessment will negate this

issue.

In grade 11, HB 503 allows students to choose whether or not they will take a college or

workplace readiness assessment, or some alternate method of demonstrating competency

of the standards. This provision recognizes that not all of New Mexico’s students are

college-bound.

This bill also requires that financial literacy shall be offered as an elective in high

schools. During the 2007 regular session, HB 1205 proposed to add financial literacy as

an elective in high school. HB 1205 passed and was signed. HB 503 proposes to carry

over this requirement into the new high school graduation requirements under the New

Mexico Diploma of Excellence that will take effect for grade nine students entering high

school in the 2009-10 school year.

HB 503 allows for the grade 11 Standards-Based Assessment to be used as the high

school graduation examination, rather than implementing an additional assessment. This

will eliminate the need for the PED to develop a new high school competency

assessment. However, PED will need to be vigilant in ensuring that the grade 11

assessment has sufficient technical quality to meet the needs of both uses.

Another issue of serious concern is the 11th grade assessment passing rates. In 2007,

53.3% of grade 11 students did not meet proficiency in reading, and 68.2% did not meet

proficiency in math. If the grade 11 assessment were used as a high school competency

exam today, nearly 70% of students will not pass. These students will need to be allowed

to take the exam in grade 12, which will result in additional cost. About 20,000 students

take the grade 11 assessment, at an estimated cost of $30 dollars per administration. If

13,640 (68.2%) students need to re-take the exam in grade 12 because they were unable

to meet standards in grade 11, the additional cost will be approximately $409 thousand

per year.

House Bill 503– Page

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HB 503 allows students who do not pass the grade 11 NMSBA to choose to complete a

portfolio process as a demonstration of competency, which will include examples of

student work, and demonstration of competency down to the benchmark level, and may

include the results of the SAT, ACT or Work Keys assessments. It is unclear how many

students will select the alternate portfolio option.

Finally, HB 503 removes the deadline for the PED to create the rule regarding the New

Mexico high school diploma of excellence and high school competency assessment. The

PED reports that the rule is currently in draft form but may need to be redrafted after the

close of the 2008 Legislative Session, if legislation changes.

At current passing rates, about 68% of New Mexico 11th graders may need to re-take the

grade 11 exam in grade 12 in order to receive a diploma. The assessment costs about $30

dollars per student to administer. Approximately 20,000 students take the exam in grade

11 each year, of which 68% is 13,640 students. Total estimated cost for students to re-

take the exam is approximately $409 thousand in recurring cost beginning in FY 11.

PED provided the following:

• The short-cycle diagnostic assessments administered locally in grades 9 and 10 will

require review for technical quality and alignment to New Mexico Content Standards and

Benchmarks.

• PED staff will be engaged in monitoring local school districts for compliance with the

legislation.

• The standards-based assessment required in Section 22-2C-4 NMSA 1978 will need to

undergo a performance standard-setting procedure in order to be used for high school

graduation.

• PED will need to develop a short-cycle diagnostic assessment for the 29 school districts

that have not implemented a local short-cycle assessment.

• All state mandated tests must meet federal standards for accessibility for English

language learners and students with disabilities including special education.

• Results from these assessments must be portable, preferably by electronic means, as

students transfer between districts, charter schools and districts and schools within

districts.

HED states they will cooperate with PED to fulfill the requirements of the alignment statute

enacted in 2003, which requires high school curricula and end-of-course tests be aligned with the

placement tests administered by the publicly funded higher education institutions in New

Mexico. The High School Redesign legislation enacted in 2007 increased the rigor of the high

school curriculum, while HB 503 provisions for the fall eleventh grade assessment increase and

facilitate the alignment of high school end-of-course tests with postsecondary placement exams.

HED will continue to work closely with the publicly funded higher education institutions in New

Mexico on the alignment process, which includes conducting a crosswalk of all college

House Bill 503– Page

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placement exams to ensure high school graduates are appropriately placed into entry-level

English and math courses.

Moreover, PED and NMHED shall collaborate as needed with the publicly funded higher

education institutions in New Mexico to determine which elements constitute college readiness

for the tenth grade short cycle assessments in English, language arts, and mathematics.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

PED indicates the legislation can be implemented within existing resources.

DUPLICATION

HB 503 duplicates SB 460

TECHNICAL ISSUES

DFA offered the following:

Amend Section A, Subsection 1 to read: …in grade nine, a short-cycle diagnostic

assessment in reading, language arts, and mathematics that is aligned to the New Mexico

educational standards to be locally administered in the fall and at least 2 additional times

during the year.

Amend Section A, Subsection 2 to read: …In grade ten, a short cycle diagnostic

assessment in reading, language arts and mathematics that is aligned to the New Mexico

educational standards to be locally administered at least three times during the year;

DW/nt