BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to reading accountability; amending RCW 28A.630.886; adding new sections to chapter 28A.150 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.630 RCW; creating new sections; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that it is essential for children in the public schools to read well early in elementary school. The legislature further finds that a clear and visible goal, assessments to determine the reading level at each building, measurements of annual building improvement, and creating accountability in each level of the educational system will result in a significant increase in the number of children reading at or above grade level.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. This act may be known and cited as the third grade reading accountability act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The definitions in this section apply throughout sections 3 through 11 of this act unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Actual percentage" means the head count enrollment of third grade students reading at or above third grade level divided by the head count enrollment of third grade students in the building on the date the state-wide third grade reading assessment is administered.

(2) "Adjusted percentage" means the actual percentage minus those students who were not in the district at least one-half of each of the student's second and third grade years, and minus those students who have been enrolled in a bilingual program for two or fewer years from both the numerator and denominator.

(3) "At or above third grade level" means at or above a fixed criterion-referenced standard in reading for a third grade student established by the commission on student learning pursuant to RCW 28A.630.886.

(4) "Building baseline" means the building's actual percentage in the spring of l998.

(5) "Equal annual incremental improvement" is one-fourth of the improvement necessary to progress from the building baseline to the reading goal by the spring of 2002 and is calculated by taking the state goal of ninety percent less the building baseline divided by four.

(6) "Factored equal annual incremental improvement" means the state goal of ninety percent less the building's adjusted percentage in the spring of l998 divided by four.

(7) "Reading goal" means ninety percent of a public elementary school building's annual head count enrollment of third grade students reading at or above grade level as measured by the state-wide third grade reading assessment.

(8) "State-wide third grade reading assessment" means the assessment developed by the commission on student learning that measures reading level by grade and monthly increments.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The reading goal of chapter . . ., Laws of 1997 (this act) is to have, by the year 2002, and each year thereafter, ninety percent or more of all Washington public school third graders reading at or above grade level, as defined by the commission on student learning, by the end of their third grade.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. To achieve the state reading goal:

(1) Each school district shall assess the reading level of its third graders in the spring of l998 and each year thereafter using the state-wide third grade reading assessment developed by the commission on student learning under RCW 28A.630.886;

(2) Each elementary school shall determine its building baseline, which shall be its actual percentage of students reading at or above third grade level as determined by the state-wide third grade reading assessment administered in the spring of l998; and

(3) Each public elementary school building is expected to make equal annual incremental improvement from its baseline. Equal annual incremental improvement is one-fourth of the reading improvement necessary to progress from the building baseline in the spring of l998 to the state reading goal of ninety percent in the spring of 2002 and shall be calculated and measured on a building-by-building basis. The percentage of required improvement will be different for different public schools since it is based on the individual building baselines. For financial accountability purposes only, the required improvement shall not exceed twelve percent annually.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The seven levels of system accountability necessary to achieve the reading goal shall be the parents, the state, the professional associations, the principals, the teachers, the public school buildings, and the school district.

(1) Parents are a child's first and most influential teacher. Public school districts shall encourage and support parents to read with their children at least twenty minutes a day from birth through third grade.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee shall:

(a) Report annually to the senate and the house of representatives education committees on the state-wide progress toward the reading goal;

(b) Provide progress reports on the state-wide third grade reading assessment scores to the public in clear, understandable terms on a building, district, and state-wide basis, and by reference to fixed standards at each grade level;

(c) Encourage buildings to develop a repertoire of instructional approaches tailored to different student learning styles;

(d) Provide information to public schools and school districts regarding organizational and instructional practices of representative buildings that are making or exceeding the equal annual incremental improvement toward the reading goal;

(e) Not adopt a specific instructional approach. The standard for instruction in this area shall be what works.

(3) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall coordinate the activities of relevant professional associations. It shall:

(a) Meet and confer with each relevant professional association regarding voluntary alignment of association resources to support the achievement of the reading goal;

(b) Report annually to the senate and the house of representatives education committees on the efforts of professional associations to support the achievement of the reading goal; and

(4) Each public elementary school principal has the primary responsibility within the building for providing leadership in reaching the reading goal. An increasing portion of each public elementary school principal's annual evaluation should result from each school district's professional appraisal of effective leadership in this area.

(5) Each third grade teacher shall annually report to the parent or guardian the reading level of the parent's child as measured by the state-wide reading assessment commencing June l998 and each year thereafter. The report shall reference grade level and monthly increments.

(6) Each public elementary school shall annually report to its community the number, the actual percentage, and the adjusted percentage of third grade students reading at or above third grade level and the distribution and range of all reading scores by grade and monthly increments on the state-wide third grade reading assessment required under section 5 of this act.

(7) Each district shall report to the superintendent of public instruction annually beginning October 1998 the number, the actual percentage, and the adjusted percentage of third grade students reading at or above third grade level on the state-wide third grade reading assessment required under section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Consistent with chapter 28A.630 RCW, districts shall receive rewards for achievement, assistance for deficiency, and sanctions for consistent nonachievement of factored equal annual incremental improvement. Financial rewards and sanctions under this section are intended to engage the districts and may not be linked to either the principal or the elementary school building.

(1) Beginning in the 1999-2000 school year, each school district shall annually receive an additional two thousand dollars for each elementary building achieving the lesser of factored equal annual incremental improvement or twelve percent per year.

(2) Beginning in the 1999-2000 school year, each school district shall annually receive an additional one thousand dollars for each elementary building achieving the lesser of one-half of factored equal annual incremental improvement or six percent per year.

(3) Beginning in the 2000-01 school year, each school district shall annually receive one thousand dollars less for each elementary building failing to achieve the lesser of one-half of factored equal annual incremental improvement or six percent per year.

(4) Payments under subsection (1) or (2) of this section are due if a building qualifies either on an annual basis or on a cumulative year basis. Reductions under subsection (3) of this section shall not occur if a building achieves the lesser of one-half of factored equal annual incremental improvement or six percent per year measured either on an annual basis or on a cumulative year basis. Payment under subsection (1) of this section shall continue to school districts with buildings that achieve and continue to maintain the reading goal.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules to prorate the amount paid or withheld under section 7 of this act for elementary buildings with a third grade full-time equivalent enrollment of fewer than seventy-five students.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The accuracy of the actual percentage and the adjusted percentage of third grade students reading at or above grade level reported to the community and to the superintendent of public instruction shall be reviewed by the state auditor in each school district's state audit.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 28A.630 RCW to read as follows:

Notwithstanding other provisions of law, the commission on student learning shall recommend additional standards and processes for accountability for school districts and public elementary school principals, teachers, and buildings providing reward for achievement, assistance for deficiency, and sanctions for consistent nonachievement of equal annual incremental improvement. The recommendations shall be reported to the superintendent of public instruction and the legislature by June 1998.

Sec. 11. RCW 28A.630.886 and 1995 c 303 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The elementary grades assessment developed by the commission on student learning under RCW 28A.630.885(3)(b)(i) shall require that all public school students are assessed for reading literacy skills in the third grade no later than ((~~March 31st~~)) in the spring of l998 and each year thereafter. The state-wide third grade reading assessment, in addition to reporting in other formats, shall report student reading level in terms of grade level and monthly increments.

(2) ((The reading assessment in subsection (1) of this section shall be available for use by elementary schools no later than the 1996-97 school year. Elementary schools are encouraged to begin implementation of the assessment in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 school years)) The commission on student learning shall define the standard "at or above third grade level" for third grade reading in relationship to the state-wide third grade reading assessment at a skill level consistent with subsequent achievement of the commission's fourth grade standards, and as measured in the spring of a student's third grade year. The commission on student learning shall approve such other standards relating to reading as may be necessary.

(3) Notwithstanding the assessment implementation dates in RCW 28A.630.885, the reading assessment in subsection (1) of this section shall be implemented state-wide to all public school third-grade students in the ((~~1998-99 school year~~)) spring of l998 and be administered the spring of each year thereafter.

(4) The information provided by the reading assessment shall be used by educators as a tool to evaluate instructional practices and to initiate appropriate educational support for students who have not mastered the essential academic learning requirements for reading for kindergarten through third grade. The primary purpose of the third grade reading test is for feedback for the kindergarten through third grade reading process and not for remediation commencing in the fourth grade. The type of support to be provided to students shall be determined by school districts. School districts shall periodically reassess students who have not mastered the essential academic learning requirements for reading, and shall continue to provide appropriate reading support for students who have not mastered these essential academic learning requirements. The results of the reading assessment shall ((~~not~~)) be used for ((~~school or school district~~)) adult and system accountability purposes pursuant to sections 6 and 7 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. This act does not provide a cause of legal action for damages or specific performance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Sections 3 through 9 and 12 of this act are each added to chapter 28A.150 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. The sum of five million dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, from the general fund to the superintendent of public instruction for the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.