STAND. COM. REP. NO. 477

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1282

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 1282 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal the administration of nationally norm-referenced testing in English and mathematics for certain grades.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

     Your Committee recognizes that many military impacted schools often use naturally norm-referenced tests like TerraNova to create an equal and fair basis of comparison between Department of Defense Education Activity schools.  Your Committee finds that the recent adoption of the Common Core State Standards by the Board of Education will result in the development and implementation of a summative assessment in certain grades for English and mathematics.  These assessment standards should be fully implemented by 2015; therefore, the administration of nationally norm-referenced tests will no longer be necessary after 2015.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Allowing the administration of nationally norm-referenced testing in English and mathematics for certain grades to be discretionary, rather than mandatory, until June 30, 2015; and

     (2)  Repealing the administration of nationally norm-referenced testing on July 1, 2015.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1282, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1282, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

____________________________

JILL TOKUDA, Chair