53E-4-307. Benchmark assessments in reading — Report to parent.
| (1) |
As used in this section:
Terms Used In Utah Code 53E-4-307- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Parent: means a parent or legal guardian. See Utah Code 53E-1-102
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- State board: means the State Board of Education. See Utah Code 53E-1-102
| (a) |
“Competency” means a demonstrable acquisition of a specified knowledge, skill, or ability that has been organized into a hierarchical arrangement leading to higher levels of knowledge, skill, or ability. |
| (b) |
“Diagnostic assessment” means an assessment that measures key literacy skills, including phonemic awareness, sound-symbol recognition, alphabet knowledge, decoding and encoding skills, and comprehension, to determine a student’s specific strengths and weaknesses in a skill area. |
| (c) |
“Evidence-based” means the same as that term is defined in Section 53G-11-303. |
| (d) |
“Evidence-informed” means the same as that term is defined in Section 53G-11-303. |
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| (2) |
The state board shall approve a benchmark assessment for use statewide by school districts and charter schools to assess the reading competency of students in grades 1 through 6 as provided by this section. |
| (3) |
A school district or charter school shall:
| (a) |
administer benchmark assessments to students in grades 1, 2, and 3 at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year using the benchmark assessment approved by the state board; and |
| (b) |
after administering a benchmark assessment, report the results to a student’s parent. |
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| (4) |
| (a) |
If a benchmark assessment or supplemental reading assessment indicates a student lacks competency in a reading skill, or is lagging behind other students in the student’s grade in acquiring a reading skill, the school district or charter school shall:
| (i) |
administer diagnostic assessments to the student; |
| (ii) |
using data from the diagnostic assessment, provide specific, focused, and individualized intervention or tutoring to develop the reading skill; |
| (iii) |
administer formative assessments and progress monitoring at recommended levels for the benchmark assessment to measure the success of the focused intervention; |
| (iv) |
inform the student’s parent of activities that the parent may engage in with the student to assist the student in improving reading proficiency; |
| (v) |
provide information to the parent regarding appropriate interventions available to the student outside of the regular school day that may include tutoring, before and after school programs, or summer school; and |
| (vi) |
provide instructional materials that are evidence-informed for core instruction and evidence-based for intervention and supplemental instruction. |
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| (b) |
Nothing in this section or in Section 53F-4-203 or 53G-11-303 requires a reading software product to demonstrate the statistically significant effect size described in Subsection 53G-11-303(1)(a) in order to be used as an instructional material described in Subsection (4)(a)(vi). |
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| (5) |
| (a) |
In accordance with Section 53F-4-201 and except as provided in Subsection (5)(b), the state board shall contract with one or more educational technology providers for a benchmark assessment system for reading for students in kindergarten through grade 6. |
| (b) |
If revenue is insufficient for the benchmark assessment system for the grades described in Subsection (5)(a), the state board shall first prioritize funding a benchmark assessment for students in kindergarten through grade 3. |
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Amended by Chapter 20, 2023 General Session
