HB585:

Middle and high school end-of-course assessments; number and type.

Bill Summary:

Middle and high school end-of-course assessments; number and type. Requires, except for those middle and high school students with significant cognitive disabilities who participate in an alternate assessment, each student in middle and high school to take only those end-of-course Standards of Learning assessments necessary to meet federal accountability requirements and Virginia high school graduation requirements. The bill requires, with such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose, and except in the case of students who participate in an alternate assessment, the Standards of Learning assessments for Virginia Studies, Civics and Economics, Virginia and U.S. history, and biology to include items that require the student to apply knowledge and skills in preparing a response. Such items shall include open-ended questions, long-form writing, and other tasks, with student responses scored by the Department of Education according to statewide scoring rubrics. The bill requires student performance on the Virginia and U.S. history and biology end-of-course assessments to account for 10 percent of the student's final grade in each such course. The bill also requires the Department of Education to convene and consult a work group to develop a plan for the implementation of such assessment items no later than the beginning of the 2027–2028 school year.