Sec. 17. (a) The state board shall approve two (2) or more benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessments to identify students that require remediation and provide individualized instruction in which a school corporation, charter school, state accredited nonpublic school, or eligible school (as defined in IC 20-51-1-4.7) may receive a grant under subsection (g).

     (b) For a benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessment described in subsection (a) that is administered to students in kindergarten through grade 2, the assessment must meet one (1) or more of the following:

(1) The assessment:

(A) focuses on English/language arts; and

(B) shows alignment, verified by a third party, to Indiana’s academic standards for English/language arts domains, specifically foundational reading skills.

(2) The assessment is a universal screener that:

(A) meets the screening requirements listed in IC 20-35.5-2-2;

(B) measures foundational reading skills;

(C) received a convincing or partially convincing rating for accuracy, reliability, and validity by the National Center on Intensive Intervention or a nationally recognized dyslexia assessment expert;

(D) screens for early literacy skill deficits;

(E) provides parents and schools with data analysis guides for interpreting results and comprehensive support for schools to guide classroom instruction and the implementation of reading interventions; and

(F) provides the department with an annual analysis of statewide data trends to support identification of early literacy skill deficits and guides targeted intervention efforts.

(3) The assessment focuses on numeracy and shows alignment, verified by a third party, to Indiana’s academic standards for mathematical domains, specifically:

(A) number sense;

(B) computation and algebraic thinking; and

(C) measurement.

     (c) For a benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessment described in subsection (a) that is administered to students in grades 3 through 7, the assessment must show alignment, verified by a third party, to Indiana’s academic standards.

     (d) For a benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessment described in subsection (a) that is administered to students in grades 8 through 10, the assessment must show alignment, verified by a third party, to:

(1) Indiana’s academic standards; or

(2) the nationally recognized college entrance exam required to be administered under section 7 of this chapter.

     (e) This subsection does not apply to an assessment that is a universal screener described in subsection (b)(2). The majority of the benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessment reporting must indicate the degree to which students are on track for grade level proficiency and college and career readiness. Approved assessments must also provide predictive study results for student performance on the statewide summative assessment under section 7 of this chapter, not later than two (2) years after the statewide summative assessment has been first administered.

     (f) This subsection does not apply to an assessment that is a universal screener described in subsection (b)(2). A school corporation, charter school, state accredited nonpublic school, or eligible school (as defined in IC 20-51-1-4.7) may elect to administer a benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessment described in subsection (a). If a school corporation, charter school, state accredited nonpublic school, or eligible school (as defined in IC 20-51-1-4.7) administers an assessment described in subsection (a), the school corporation, charter school, state accredited nonpublic school, or eligible school (as defined in IC 20-51-1-4.7) may prescribe the time and the manner in which the assessment is administered.

     (g) If a school corporation, charter school, state accredited nonpublic school, or eligible school (as defined in IC 20-51-1-4.7) elects to administer a benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessment described in subsection (a), the school corporation, charter school, state accredited nonpublic school, or eligible school (as defined in IC 20-51-1-4.7) is entitled to receive a grant or reimbursement from the department in an amount not to exceed the cost of the assessment. The department shall provide grants and reimbursements to a school corporation, charter school, state accredited nonpublic school, or eligible school (as defined in IC 20-51-1-4.7) under this section from money appropriated to the department for the purpose of carrying out this section.

     (h) Except as provided in subsection (j), the state board and the department may not contract with, approve, or endorse the use of a single vendor to provide benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessments for any grade level or levels of kindergarten through grade 7.

     (i) Before the state board may approve a benchmark, formative, interim, or similar assessment described in subsection (a), the assessment vendor must enter into a data share agreement with the department in the manner prescribed by the department. A vendor providing an assessment described in subsection (b)(2) shall provide a summary of a student’s assessment results to the student and the student’s parents. The summary of the results must be in an understandable format for parents that is easy to read.

     (j) The department shall procure a preferred assessment that meets the requirements specified in subsection (b)(2) for use by schools in which fewer than seventy percent (70%) of students in the school achieved a valid passing score on the determinant evaluation of reading skills approved by the state board.

     (k) This subsection applies to:

(1) a public school, including a charter school;

(2) a state accredited nonpublic school; and

(3) an eligible school (as defined in IC 20-51-1-4.7).

An elementary school shall administer an assessment described in subsection (b)(2) to students in kindergarten through grade 2. The department shall provide guidance as to the number of times the assessment is required and when the administrations of the assessment should occur.

As added by P.L.242-2017, SEC.41. Amended by P.L.269-2019, SEC.9; P.L.155-2020, SEC.16; P.L.211-2021, SEC.33; P.L.245-2023, SEC.10; P.L.5-2024, SEC.14; P.L.150-2024, SEC.55.