Establishes procedures and guidelines for which a test subject may request and obtain information and materials regarding a standardized test

The bill also requires that the testing agencies provide a means for the test subject to request the information through an on-line internal based link, and that forty-five days after the results of any standardized tests are released, the test agency must provide the information, if requested, within twenty-five days of the request.

The test agency must also maintain a record of all requests for this information and a record of all errors found by the test subject. They must also provide an explanation for such errors and what the outcome was regarding any changes in the test subject's raw and scaled score. The bill eliminates the previously established "nominal" fee that the testing agencies could charge for providing this information, instead the bill limits this fee to ten dollars and requires a portion of future year-to-year earnings and corporate management salary growth to be allocated to offset the cost of providing the test taker with a copy of their questions and answers. Finally, the bill establishes a New York State Board of Testing Integrity to oversee and make recommendations regarding all aspects of the administration of standardized tests in New York. The legislation states that the focus of the Board is to represent and protect at all times the interests of the test subjects during the entire testing process. A fee of one dollar per test administered in New York shall be paid by each testing agency which shall be deposited in an account to be used to pay for and support the Board's activities.

Justification

Over the last decade, we have become a society ever more dependent on the use of standardized tests as a measure of assessing academic performance. Students as young as eight years old are taking standardized tests and are being judged based on the results of those tests. However, over time we have seen many instances where the results of these tests have come into question. Most recently, over 4,000 SAT I exams had errors in scoring, some of which were small, others resulted in significant scoring errors of over 300 points.

On May 2, 2006, the Senate Higher Education Committee held a public hearing at which testimony was provided by the President of the College Board, the President of the Education Testing Service, the National President of Pearson, Inc., the President of Fair Testing and a student directly impacted by the testing agency scoring errors. During this hearing several issues were raised regarding the overall administration of the test. Of particular concern is the lack of oversight over the testing agencies and the lack of quality control to ensure the reliability and validity of administration and scoring of the tests. For example, the College Board testified that they do not currently practice any quality control with regard to the test product to ensure reliable scoring. Instead, they rely on the test subjects who have paid an additional fee of at least $24.00 for a copy of the test questions· and their answers and the correct answers to ensure that no scoring errors have occurred. In effect, the test agency is charging the test subject to conduct their own quality control audits.

The provisions of this legislation and the creation of the New York State Board of Testing Integrity are much needed common sense additions to the Standardized Testing laws already adopted by New York State in order to help ensure a fair process where the interest of the testing agency on the test subject are balanced and equitable.

Legislative history

2007-08, S.5030-A; 2005-06, S.561-B

Fiscal implications

None.

Local fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of September in the year in which it shall have become a law, provided, however, that a test agency shall not be required to revise its application brochure or forms for the test year commencing September 1, 2010 to incorporate the requirements of this act.