Senate Engrossed Bill No. 39 is titled “An Act to revise the assessments required in certain
schools, the grades to be assessed, and to declare an emergency.” It's part of the Department of
Education's efforts to maintain South Dakota in compliance with the federal No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) legislation enacted by Congress last year.
Current South Dakota law requires the Department to conduct statewide, standardized tests for
certain grades. The same national, norm-referenced tests are administered to grades 2, 4, 8, and
11 in every school district. Plus, tests are administered to grades 5 and 9 to assess writing skills.
Finally, current law requires a criterion-referenced test to be administered twice a year to grades
3, 6, and 10. The test instruments are selected by the Department of Education and Cultural
Affairs and all schools run the same test according to timelines promulgated in rule by the
Department.
Senate Bill 39 in its current form mandates that all public schools shall annually administer the
same test, as provided by the Department, for grades 3 to 8, inclusive, and grade 11, to test
academic progress of each student, pursuant to NCLB. The bill repeals the requirement to
administer the twice-yearly test of students in grades 3, 6, and 10. This on-line test did not meet
federal requirements nor was it well received among all districts, particularly the larger districts.
Senate Bill 39 also mandates that alternative education (e.g. home-school) students in grades 2,
4, 8, and 11 must take a nationally standardized achievement test of the basic skills. The test
may be the same one provided by the state and used in the public school district where the child
is instructed or another nationally standardized test chosen by and provided at the expense of the
child's parent, guardian, or alternative school. The test may be monitored by the local school
district where the child is instructed.
In consultation with the Department of Education, it is estimated that Senate Bill 39 would have
the following impact on the state's finances, funding authority for which is contained in the
General Appropriation Bill: