R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-97-8: Assessment of student performance.

(a) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall implement the state assessment program. The program shall include performance standards and an annual report that disaggregates performance by race, poverty, native language, and gender.

(b) Prior to the graduating class of 2017, no state assessment conducted pursuant to this chapter, and no other standardized testing program or assessment, shall be used to determine a student’s eligibility to graduate from high school. Any such assessments implemented prior to the graduating class of 2017 shall be used to promote school improvement and to target remediation programs to individual students and groups of students.