120B.31 SYSTEM ACCOUNTABILITY AND STATISTICAL ADJUSTMENTS.
    Subdivision 1. Educational accountability and public reporting. Consistent with the
process to adopt a results-oriented graduation rule under section 120B.02, the department, in
consultation with education and other system stakeholders, must establish a coordinated and
comprehensive system of educational accountability and public reporting that promotes higher
academic achievement.
    Subd. 2. Statewide testing. Each school year, all school districts shall give a uniform
statewide test to students at specified grades to provide information on the status, needs and
performance of Minnesota students.
    Subd. 3. Educational accountability. (a) The Independent Office of Educational
Accountability, as authorized by Laws 1997, First Special Session chapter 4, article 5, section
28, subdivision 2, is established, and shall be funded through the Board of Regents of the
University of Minnesota. The office shall advise the education committees of the legislature and
the commissioner of education, at least on a biennial basis, on the degree to which the statewide
educational accountability and reporting system includes a comprehensive assessment framework
that measures school accountability for students achieving the goals described in the state's
results-oriented graduation rule. The office shall determine and annually report to the legislature
whether and how effectively:
    (1) the statewide system of educational accountability utilizes multiple indicators to provide
valid and reliable comparative and contextual data on students, schools, districts, and the state,
and if not, recommend ways to improve the accountability reporting system;
    (2) the commissioner makes statistical adjustments when reporting student data over time,
consistent with clause (4);
    (3) the commissioner uses indicators of student achievement growth over time and a
value-added assessment model that estimates the effects of the school and school district on
student achievement to measure school performance, consistent with section 120B.36, subdivision
1 ;
    (4) the commissioner makes data available on students who do not pass one or more of the
state's required GRAD tests and do not receive a diploma as a consequence, and categorizes
these data according to gender, race, eligibility for free or reduced lunch, and English language
proficiency; and
    (5) the commissioner fulfills the requirements under section 127A.095, subdivision 2.
    (b) When the office reviews the statewide educational accountability and reporting system, it
shall also consider:
    (1) the objectivity and neutrality of the state's educational accountability system; and
    (2) the impact of a testing program on school curriculum and student learning.
    Subd. 4. Statistical adjustments. In developing policies and assessment processes to hold
schools and districts accountable for high levels of academic standards under section 120B.021,
the commissioner shall aggregate student data over time to report student performance levels
measured at the school district, regional, or statewide level. When collecting and reporting the
data, the commissioner shall: (1) acknowledge the impact of significant demographic factors such
as residential instability, the number of single parent families, parents' level of education, and
parents' income level on school outcomes; and (2) organize and report the data so that state
and local policy makers can understand the educational implications of changes in districts'
demographic profiles over time. Any report the commissioner disseminates containing summary
data on student performance must integrate student performance and the demographic factors
that strongly correlate with that performance.
History: 1996 c 412 art 7 s 2; 1997 c 1 s 2; 1998 c 397 art 4 s 3,4,51; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398
art 5 s 10,55; 2003 c 130 s 12; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 11 s 1; 2007 c 146 art 2 s 10