Approval of Costs to Administer the 2017-2018 State-Developed Assessments to
Private School Students

November 10, 2017

COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL FINANCE/PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: CONSENT

SUMMARY: Texas Education Code, §39.033, allows a private school to voluntarily assess its students with the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) and the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) assessments. The State Board of Education (SBOE) must approve the per-student cost to private schools, which may not exceed the cost of administering the same assessment to a student enrolled in a public school district. This item requests approval of these costs for the 2017-2018 school year.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: TEC, §39.033.

PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: In November 2016, the SBOE approved the costs of administering the 2016-2017 STAAR and TELPAS assessments to private school students.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Since the spring 1996 test administration, private schools, including home schools, have been eligible to participate on a voluntary basis in the Texas assessment program. During the 2016-2017 school year, participation in these voluntary assessments for grades 3 through 12 involved 30 private schools and 4,310 students. The attachment lists the 2016-2017 participating private schools.
 
Under TEC, §39.033, private schools that administer the tests must enter into an agreement with the Texas Education Agency. The agreement requires private schools, as determined appropriate by the commissioner of education, to provide the commissioner the information listed in TEC, §39.053(c) and §39.301(c), which includes information to be used as indicators of academic performance, and to maintain confidentiality as required under TEC, §39.030. Private schools that participate in the assessment must provide reimbursement for the cost of administering the assessment, which may not exceed the per-student cost of administering the same assessment to a student enrolled in a public school district. In addition, participating private schools must agree to test all eligible students and to administer the primary form of all subject-area tests available for a particular grade.

A critical component of the contract with private schools is the per-student cost for each instrument, which must be determined by the SBOE. The attachment displays the per-student cost for each test that will be available to private schools in the 2017-2018 school year. These figures were derived by taking the costs from the agency's contract for fiscal year 2017 and dividing by the number of answer documents scanned for each grade and test administered during the 2016-2017 school year. Using this method for determining the per-student cost ensures that the cost for assessing a private school student will not exceed the per-student cost for administering the same test to a public school student. Costs cover developing tests and ancillary materials; printing, packaging, and shipping test materials; scoring tests; and reporting results. The attachment also provides assurances from both ETS and Pearson that these costs do not exceed per-student test costs for the public schools.

FISCAL IMPACT: The figures provided in the attachment cover the costs of administering the STAAR and TELPAS assessments. There are no additional fiscal implications.

PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: Both the public and students will benefit from the approval of these private school testing cost figures. Private schools can administer state-developed tests and use test results for program planning and as a guide for individual student remediation. Public schools will benefit in that students entering public school systems from private schools may have test scores available on the same instruments for which public schools are held accountable.

PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: Private schools choosing to administer the statewide tests must agree to follow standard procedures for test administration, maintain security and confidentiality, and report to the commissioner their test results and other information outlined in TEC, §39.053(c) and §39.301(c).

PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.

ALTERNATIVES: None.

OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.

MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:

Approve the per-student costs for administering the state assessments to private school students in 2017-2018 as listed in the attachment.

Staff Members Responsible:
Deb Sauberer, Executive Director
Student Assessment

Julie Guthrie, Director of Special Assessment Projects
Student Assessment

Attachment:
Letter of Assurance from ETS and Pearson, 2016-2017 Participating Private Schools, and Costs for Administering Assessments to Private School Students in 2017-2018 (PDF, 284KB)