State & Federal Law

In Rule 6A-1.094223, F.A.C., the State Board of Education adopted concordant scores on the SAT and ACT for FCAT 2.0 and comparative scores for the Algebra 1 EOC in the summer of 2013. These concordant and comparative scores provide other opportunities for students to demonstrate that they have the necessary knowledge and skills in order to earn a standard high school diploma. The
concordant and comparative scores will remain in place through the transition to the new assessment until the State Board of Education adopts new concordant and comparative scores, likely in 2016. This ensures that, until new concordant and comparative scores are approved, students attempting to meet 22 graduation requirements through these avenues will be treated fairly and will be held to the same standard as students in recent years.

Retake Opportunities; Concordant and Comparative Score Opportunities
For a student who does not meet the graduation requirement for the Grade 10 English language artsassessment or the Algebra 1 EOC, retake opportunities are offered at least until the student’s cohort is scheduled to graduate.

 Federal Assessment Requirements
Federal laws and regulations [Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Section 1111(b)(3) and
(7), and the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 34)] provide requirements that states must follow
regarding academic assessments and English language proficiency assessments (see Appendix D). The
federal government requires that:
 States must assess students’ proficiency in, at a minimum, mathematics, English language arts, & science.
 The same assessments must be used to measure the academic achievement of all children.
 The academic assessments must be aligned to the state’s academic standards.
 The state must demonstrate that the assessment is of sufficient quality to be used for the purposes intended.
 Reasonable accommodations must be provided for students w/ disabilities as needed to measure the academic achievement of these students.
 States must provide for one or more alternate assessments for a child with a disability if the child’s IEP team determines the child cannot participate in the statewide assessments, even with appropriate accommodations.
 English language learners must be assessed and be provided accommodations to the extent needed to yield accurate data on what these students have achieved.
 States must annually assess the English proficiency of all students with limited English proficiency. The table on the next page shows how Florida uses statewide assessments to satisfy federal assessment requirements.