BILL REQ. #:  S-1188.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/07/13.   

     AN ACT Relating to creating a school-grading program that relies on the accountability index; and adding a new section to chapter 28A.655 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 28A.655 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The primary purposes of a school-grading program are to enhance the learning gains of all students, provide feedback to schools and school districts, supply parents and community members with understandable information about their schools, and provide information regarding school accountability and recognition.
     (2) Beginning with the 2013-14 school year, the state board of education must implement a school-grading program that identifies schools as having one of the following grades:
     (a) "A" for schools making excellent progress;
     (b) "B" for schools making above average progress;
     (c) "C" for schools making satisfactory progress;
     (d) "D" for schools making less than satisfactory progress; and
     (e) "F" for schools failing to make adequate progress.
     (3) Each school that has students who are tested using the assessments administered statewide in reading, writing, mathematics, and science required under RCW 28A.655.061, 28A.655.066, and 28A.655.070 shall earn a school grade, except as follows:
     (a) To protect the privacy of students, schools, and districts testing fewer than ten students in a grade level; and
     (b) A school that serves any combination of students in kindergarten through grade three shall not earn a school grade based on test scores because its students are not tested. Such schools shall be included in the school-grading program by earning the grade designation of the K-3 feeder-pattern school identified by the office of the superintendent of public instruction and verified by the school district. A school feeder pattern exists if at least sixty percent of the students in the school serving a combination of students in kindergarten through grade three are scheduled to be assigned to the graded school. The school with students in kindergarten through grade three will earn the grade earned by its feeder-pattern school.
     (4)(a) A school's grade shall be determined by the state board of education using the accountability index, cooperatively developed under RCW 28A.657.110 by the state board of education and the office of the superintendent of public instruction. The index must measure the increase in student achievement on the statewide administered assessments in reading, writing, mathematics, and science; and the reduction in student achievement gaps. The index may include other student outcome measurements.
     (b) For schools with any combination of grades nine, ten, eleven, and twelve, at least fifty percent of a school's grade shall be determined using the accountability index and the remaining percentage shall be based on the following factors, if the factors are not already included in the accountability index:
     (i) The high school graduation rate of the school as calculated by the office of the superintendent of public instruction;
     (ii) As valid data becomes available, the performance and participation of the school's students in AP courses, international baccalaureate courses, and dual enrollment courses; and student achievement of national industry certification;
     (iii) Postsecondary readiness of all of the school's on-time graduates as measured by the SAT, the ACT, or a placement test; and
     (iv) The high school graduation rate of at-risk students.
     (5)(a) The state board of education shall adopt appropriate criteria for each school grade.
     (b) The criteria must give added weight to student achievement in reading.
     (c) Schools earning a grade of "C," or higher must demonstrate that at least half of the students in the school who are in the lowest twenty-fifth percentile in reading and mathematics on the statewide administered assessments are making adequate progress; if not, the school letter grade is decreased by one letter.
     (d) For schools with any combination of grades nine, ten, eleven, and twelve, the criteria for school grades must also give added weight to the graduation rate of all eligible at-risk students. In order for a high school to earn a grade of "A," the school must demonstrate that its at-risk students are making adequate progress.
     (6) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must annually report each school district's grade to the governor and the legislature. A school district's grade must be calculated using student performance and learning gains data on statewide assessments used for determining school grades under subsection (4) of this section for each eligible student enrolled for a full school year in the district. This calculation methodology captures information describing each eligible student in the district who may have transferred among schools within the district or who is enrolled in a school that does not earn a grade.
     (7) By August 1, 2014, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall adapt the model school performance report and the agency web site originally developed under RCW 28A.655.110 to include each school district's grade and each school's grade. Each school district's and school's report card shall be published annually, with the school and district grade history, by the agency on its web site.
     (8) Each school district must include in its annual school performance report required under RCW 28A.655.110 each school's grade and must also include the school district's grade.
     (9) For the purposes of this section, "at-risk students" means students scoring at level one or level two on the eighth grade statewide administered reading and mathematics assessment.
     (10) The state board of education and the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules, as necessary, to administer this section.
     (11)(a) The school-grading program shall be a pilot program during the 2013-14 school year. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall conduct the pilot program in five geographically diverse school districts, including urban, rural, large, and small districts.
     (b) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall contract with an organization in Washington state that conducts and disseminates action research, partners with state and local agencies and organizations, and provides data services and support for school and district improvement planning to conduct an independent evaluation of the school-grading pilot program. The evaluation shall be submitted to the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the governor, and the legislature by December 1, 2014. The evaluation must include recommendations on any necessary modifications, if any, to the criteria or the process used to grade schools and districts.
     (12) The state board of education and the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall make all the modifications recommended in the evaluation and implement the school-grading program statewide in the 2014-15 school year.