N.Y. Education Law § 341-a: Standardized testing; reports

§ 341-a. Standardized testing; reports. 1. Definitions. As used in

this section and section three hundred forty-six-a of this article, the

following words and terms shall have the following meanings:

a. "Test" means a standardized test as defined in section three

hundred forty of this article; provided however, that the test of

English as a foreign language shall not constitute a test for purposes

of this section;

b. "Test subject" means a test subject as defined in section three

hundred forty of this article.

2. Not later than July first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight, and for

one year thereafter, test agencies shall ask each test subject to report

on the test answer sheet, test registration form, or other appropriate

means all of the following information:

a. The test subject's race or ethnicity, including the following

groups: Black, White, American Indian, Asian, Hispanic or other;

b. The test subject's gender, expressed as male or female; and

c. The test subject's linguistic background, expressed as whether

English was the dominant language of the test subject's household.

3. The test agency shall advise all test subjects that they are not

required to provide the information requested under paragraphs a and c

of subdivision two of this section, that they will not be penalized if

they do not provide the information, and that the information provided

will be used exclusively for research, recruitment, talent

identification and planning purposes.

4. a. Not later than September first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine,

the test agency shall prepare and file or cause to be filed with the

committee described in section three hundred forty-six-a of this article

a report relating to each test administered and disclosed pursuant to

section three hundred forty-two of this article by the test agency in

New York between July first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight and July

first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine. Such report shall be subject to the

provisions of subdivisions two and three of section three hundred

forty-one of this article.

b. Each such test report shall show by race or ethnicity, linguistic

background and gender, the mean-scaled scores of test subjects, the

standard deviation of scaled scores, and the distribution of scaled

scores.

5. a. Not later than September first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine,

the test agency shall prepare and file or cause to be filed with the

committee an item report relating to each question used in calculating

the subject's raw score on each test form administered and disclosed

pursuant to section three hundred forty-two of this article in New York

between July first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight and July first,

nineteen hundred eighty-nine. Such report shall be subject to the

provisions of subdivisions two and three of section three hundred

forty-one of this article.

b. Each such item report shall show for each question used in

calculating the test subject's raw score, the item's content area

specification, and where disclosed pursuant to section three hundred

forty-two of this article, information identifying the text of the item,

and the correct answer-rates and R-biserial correlations for all test

subjects, combined and separately by race, ethnicity, gender or

linguistic background as reported under subdivision two of this section.

Such item report shall also calculate the correct answer rates and

R-biserial correlations comparing performance by gender and language

dominance, within race and ethnic subgroups, including language

dominance by the total gender group. Content area specification shall be

reported for each exam to indicate area of knowledge, skill or ability

that an item purports to measure according to the examination's

manufacturer or sponsoring agency. Correct answer-rates shall be

calculated by dividing the number of correct answers for a question used

in calculating the subject's raw score on all test forms administered

and disclosed pursuant to section three hundred forty-two of this

article between July first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight and July

first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine by the number of test subjects to

whom those test forms were administered. R-biserial correlations shall

be calculated by correlating performance on a question used in

calculating the subject's raw score on each test form administered

between July first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight and July first,

nineteen hundred eighty-nine with performance on the tests as shown by

total scores.

c. The test agency shall not be required to include in such test and

item reports under this subdivision and subdivision four of this section

information for any group comprising fewer than one hundred test

subjects.

d. The test report will also include data showing measures of

differential item functioning on individual questions that take into

account differences in overall test performance. Data will be provided

for test items which contribute to the candidate scores and for which

differential item data are available. Differential item functioning data

shall be reported for comparative purposes between the following pairs

of groups: (Black-White), (Hispanic-White), (American Indian-White),

(Asian-White), (Other-White) and (Male-Female). Documentation as to the

methods by which these data have been calculated will accompany the

data. Differential item functioning data shall not be required for pairs

of groups comprising fewer than four hundred test subjects in each

group.

e. The committee may request additional data, where already available

and published, from the test agencies to clarify the data previously

reported pursuant to this subdivision and subdivision four of this

section.