---
kind: "section"
citation: "34 C.F.R. § 462.40"
title: "34"
number: "462.40"
heading: "Must a State have an assessment policy?"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/34/462.40"
---

# §462.40. Must a State have an assessment policy?

- (a) A State must have a written assessment policy that its local eligible providers must follow in measuring educational gain and reporting data in the NRS.
- (b) A State must submit its assessment policy to the Secretary for review and approval at the time it submits its annual statistical report for the NRS.
- (c) **The State's assessment policy must—**
  - (1) Include a statement requiring that local eligible providers measure the educational gain of all students who receive 12 hours or more of instruction in the State's adult education program with a test that the Secretary has determined is suitable for use in the NRS;
  - (2) Identify the pre- and post-tests that the State requires eligible providers to use to measure the educational functioning level gain of ABE, ASE, and ESL students;
  - (3)
    - (i) Indicate when, in calendar days or instructional hours, eligible providers must administer pre- and post-tests to students;
    - (ii) Ensure that the time for administering the post-test is long enough after the pre-test to allow the test to measure educational functioning level gains according to the test publisher's guidelines; and
    - (iii) **Specify a standard for the percentage of students to be pre- and post-tested.**
  - (4) Specify the score ranges tied to educational functioning levels for placement and for reporting gains for accountability;
  - (5) Identify the skill areas the State intends to require local eligible providers to assess in order to measure educational gain;
  - (6) Include the guidance the State provides to local eligible providers on testing and placement of an individual with a disability or an individual who is unable to be tested because of a disability;
  - (7) Describe the training requirements that staff must meet in order to be qualified to administer and score each test selected by the State to measure the educational gains of students;
  - (8) Identify the alternate form or forms of each test that local eligible providers must use for post-testing;
  - (9) Indicate whether local eligible providers must use a locator test for guidance on identifying the appropriate pre-test;
  - (10) Describe the State's policy for the initial placement of a student at each NRS educational functioning level using test scores;
  - (11) Describe the State's policy for using the post-test for measuring educational gain and for advancing students across educational functioning levels;
  - (12) Describe the pre-service and in-service staff training that the State or local eligible providers will provide, including training—
    - (i) For staff who either administer or score each of the tests used to measure educational gain;
    - (ii) For teachers and other local staff involved in gathering, analyzing, compiling, and reporting data for the NRS; and
    - (iii) **That includes the following topics—**
      - (A) **NRS policy, accountability policies, and the data collection process.**
      - (B) **Definitions of measures.**
      - (C) Conducting assessments; and
  - (13) **Identify the State or local agency responsible for providing pre- and in-service training.**

## Notes

### Amendments

[73 FR 2315, Jan. 14, 2008, as amended at 81 FR 55552, Aug. 19, 2016]

### Authority

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 3292, et seq., unless otherwise noted.

### Source

Source: 73 FR 2315, Jan. 14, 2008, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[73 FR 2315, Jan. 14, 2008, as amended at 81 FR 55552, Aug. 19, 2016]