Amends TCA Title 49.

This bill requires the department of education to contract with a provider of a nationally recognized benchmark assessment designed to measure student readiness for postsecondary education to develop a suite of assessments to be annually administered to students in grades nine and 10 in the subjects of English, math, reading, and science in lieu of the end-of-course assessments administered in grades nine and 10 in the same subjects as part of the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program. This bill requires the assessment provider to develop and provide assessments that comply with the requirements of this bill; that are capable of producing data in student and educator reports detailing student performance on each assessment administered in the respective content area or subject over time; and that offer score predictions for the assessed student on a nationally recognized benchmark assessment or college admissions examination. Each assessment developed pursuant to a contract under this bill must comply with the following requirements: (1) Be aligned with Tennessee academic standards and administered in: (A) A paper, multiple-choice format; and (B) A structured testing environment similar to the environment students may experience when administered a nationally recognized benchmark assessment or college admissions examination; and (2) Measure student achievement in the content area or subject tested, and provide detailed results and item response analysis to identify specific areas in which continued or enhanced support may improve the student's achievement based on the student's unique needs and skills. This bill prohibits the administration of assessments developed pursuant to this bill before the 2024-2025 school year. This bill requires the department, in consultation with the state board of education, to develop proposed guidelines and criteria for the evaluation of educators teaching the grades and subjects for which an assessment is administered pursuant to this bill. The department must submit the proposed evaluation guidelines and criteria to the education committee of the senate and to the education committees of the house of representatives no later than July 1, 2023.