Summary

Utah SB 175 (Open States or Utah Legislature) modifies provisions regarding the assessment of high school students’ college readiness, among them, replacing the basic skills competency test with college readiness assessments and requiring an online preparation program for the college admissions test.

Legislative Analysis

UT SB 175 makes several changes to the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students (U-PASS), including:

• terminating the administration of a basic skills competency test to tenth grade students;
• requiring school districts and charter schools to administer college readiness assessments adopted by the State Board of Education, including the college admissions test that includes an assessment of language arts, mathematics, and science that is most commonly submitted to local universities (such as the ACT);
• requiring the State Board of Education to contract with a provider, through a request for proposals process, to provide an online program to prepare students to take the aforementioned college admissions test; and
• eliminating the Basic Skills Education Stipend Program.

The following guidelines are provided for the online test preparation program:

• allow a student to independently access online materials and learn at the student’s own pace;
• may be used to provide classroom and teacher-assisted instruction;
• provide online study materials, diagnostic exams, drills, and practice tests in an approach that is engaging to high school students;
• enable electronic reporting of student progress to administrators, teachers, parents, and other facilitators;
• record a student’s progress in an online dashboard that provides diagnostic assessment of the content areas tested and identifies mastery of corresponding skill sets; and
• provide training and professional development to personnel in school districts and charter schools on how to utilize the online test preparation program and provide teacher-assisted instruction to students.

This legislation allocates $850,000 for the college readiness assessments and the online test preparation program. $700,000 is for the assessments, along with their administration and evaluation. This funding covers the cost difference between the old tests and the new. $150,000 is for the online test preparation program.

SB 175 has a positive impact on digital learning by providing for an online test preparation program to help insure student success on a college admissions exam. The guidelines will help lead to a program that is responsive and engaging to students, as well as beneficial to teachers and parents. This program illustrates how digital learning can play a unique role in helping support student learning and success.

Legislative History

Detailed Vote History: Legiscan |  Open States

Approved by Governor Gary Herbert on 3/26/2013