BILL REQ. #: Z-0647.2

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SENATE BILL 5968
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State of Washington

58th Legislature

2003 Regular Session

By Senators Johnson and Finkbeiner; by request of Governor Locke

Read first time 02/25/2003. Referred to Committee on Education.

AN ACT Relating to the assessment of essential academic learning requirements in communication, social studies, civics, arts, and health and fitness; and amending RCW 28A.655.060.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28A.655.060 and 2001 2nd sp.s. c 20 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The Washington commission on student learning is hereby established. The primary purposes of the commission are to identify the knowledge and skills all public school students need to know and be able to do based on the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210, to develop student assessment and school accountability systems, to review current school district data reporting requirements and make recommendations on what data is necessary for the purposes of accountability and meeting state information needs, and to take other steps necessary to develop a performance-based education system. The commission shall include three members of the state board of education, three members appointed by the governor before July 1, 1992, and five members appointed no later than June 1, 1993, by the governor elected in the November 1992 election. The governor shall appoint a chair from the commission members, and fill any vacancies in gubernatorial appointments that may occur. The state board of education shall fill any vacancies of state board of education appointments that may occur. In making the appointments, educators, business leaders, and parents shall be represented, and nominations from statewide education, business, and parent organizations shall be requested. Efforts shall be made to ensure that the commission reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of the state's K-12 student population and that the major geographic regions in the state are represented. Appointees shall be qualified individuals who are supportive of educational restructuring, who have a positive record of service, and who will devote sufficient time to the responsibilities of the commission to ensure that the objectives of the commission are achieved.
     (2) The commission shall establish advisory committees. Membership of the advisory committees shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, professionals from the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the state board of education, and other state and local educational practitioners and student assessment specialists.
     (3) The commission, with the assistance of the advisory committees, shall:
     (a) Develop essential academic learning requirements based on the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210. Essential academic learning requirements shall be developed, to the extent possible, for each of the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210. Goals one and two shall be considered primary. Essential academic learning requirements for RCW 28A.150.210(1), goal one, and the mathematics component of RCW 28A.150.210(2), goal two, shall be completed no later than March 1, 1995. Essential academic learning requirements that incorporate the remainder of RCW 28A.150.210 (2), (3), and (4), goals two, three, and four, shall be completed no later than March 1, 1996. To the maximum extent possible, the commission shall integrate goal four and the knowledge and skill areas in the other goals in the development of the essential academic learning requirements;
     (b)(i) The commission and superintendent of public instruction shall develop a statewide academic assessment system for use in the elementary, middle, and high school years designed to determine if each student has learned the essential academic learning requirements identified in (a) of this subsection. The academic assessment system shall include a variety of assessment methods, including criterion-referenced and performance-based measures. Performance standards for determining if a student has successfully completed an assessment shall be determined by the commission and the superintendent of public instruction in consultation with the advisory committees required in subsection (2) of this section.
     (ii) The assessment system shall be designed so that the results under the assessment system are used by educators as tools to evaluate instructional practices, and to initiate appropriate educational support for students who have not learned the essential academic learning requirements at the appropriate periods in the student's educational development.
     (iii) Assessments measuring the essential academic learning requirements shall be available for voluntary use by school districts and shall be required to be administered by school districts according to the following schedule unless the legislature takes action to delay or prevent implementation of the assessment system and essential academic learning requirements. Communication, social studies, arts, and health and fitness assessments shall be developed by the superintendent of public instruction as classroom-based assessments. These assessments shall be made available to school districts as requested by school districts and are not required to be administered by school districts.

	Assessments available for voluntary use (School years)	Assessments required to be administered (School years)
Reading, Writing, ((~~Communication,~~)) Mathematics
- Elementary school	1996-97	1997-98
- Middle school	1997-98	2000-01
- High school	1998-99	2000-01
Science
- High school	2002-03	2003-04
- Middle school	2002-03	2003-04
- Elementary school	2003-04	2004-05
Communication
- Elementary school	1996-97
- Middle school	1997-98
- High school	1998-99
Social Studies
- Elementary, middle, and high school	2004-05	((~~2007-08~~))
Civics
- High school	2004-05	2007-08
Arts
- Middle and high school	2005-06	((~~2008-09~~))
- Elementary school	2005-06	((~~2009-10~~))
Health, Fitness
- Middle and high school	2005-06	((~~2008-09~~))
- Elementary school	2005-06	((~~2009-10~~))

     The completed assessments and assessments still in development shall be transferred by the commission on student learning to the superintendent of public instruction by June 30, 1999.
     (iv) To the maximum extent possible, the commission and the superintendent of public instruction shall integrate knowledge and skill areas in development of the assessments.
     Assessments for goals three and four of RCW 28A.150.210 shall be integrated in the essential academic learning requirements and assessments for goals one and two.
     (v) The commission on student learning may modify the essential academic learning requirements and the assessments, as needed, before June 30, 1999. The superintendent of public instruction may modify the essential academic learning requirements and the assessments, as needed, after June 30, 1999. The commission and superintendent shall, upon request, provide opportunities for the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate to review the assessments and proposed modifications to the essential academic learning requirements before the modifications are adopted.
     (vi) The commission and the superintendent of public instruction shall develop assessments that are directly related to the essential academic learning requirements, and are not biased toward persons with different learning styles, racial or ethnic backgrounds, or on the basis of gender;
     (c) After a determination is made by the state board of education that the high school assessment system has been implemented and that it is sufficiently reliable and valid, successful completion of the high school assessment shall lead to a certificate of mastery. The certificate of mastery shall be obtained by most students at about the age of sixteen, and is evidence that the student has successfully mastered the essential academic learning requirements during his or her educational career. The certificate of mastery shall be required for graduation but shall not be the only requirement for graduation. The commission shall make recommendations to the state board of education regarding the relationship between the certificate of mastery and high school graduation requirements. Upon achieving the certificate of mastery, schools shall provide students with the opportunity to pursue career and educational objectives through educational pathways that emphasize integration of academic and vocational education. Educational pathways may include, but are not limited to, programs such as work-based learning, school-to-work transition, tech prep, vocational-technical education, running start, and preparation for technical college, community college, or university education. Any middle school, junior high school, or high school using educational pathways shall ensure that all participating students will continue to have access to the courses and instruction necessary to meet admission requirements at baccalaureate institutions. Students shall be allowed to enter the educational pathway of their choice. Before accepting a student into an educational pathway, the school shall inform the student's parent of the pathway chosen, the opportunities available to the student through the pathway, and the career objectives the student will have exposure to while pursuing the pathway. Parents and students dissatisfied with the opportunities available through the selected educational pathway shall be provided with the opportunity to transfer the student to any other pathway provided in the school. Schools may not develop educational pathways that retain students in high school beyond the date they are eligible to graduate, and may not require students who transfer between pathways to complete pathway requirements beyond the date the student is eligible to graduate;
     (d) Consider methods to address the unique needs of special education students when developing the assessments in (b) and (c) of this subsection;
     (e) Consider methods to address the unique needs of highly capable students when developing the assessments in (b) and (c) of this subsection;
     (f) Develop recommendations on the time, support, and resources, including technical assistance, needed by schools and school districts to help students achieve the essential academic learning requirements. These recommendations shall include an estimate for the legislature, superintendent of public instruction, and governor on the expected cost of implementing the academic assessment system;
     (g) Develop recommendations for consideration by the higher education coordinating board for adopting college and university entrance requirements for public school students that are consistent with the essential academic learning requirements and the certificate of mastery;
     (h) Review current school district data reporting requirements for the purposes of accountability and meeting state information needs. The commission on student learning shall report recommendations to the joint select committee on education restructuring by September 15, 1996, on:
     (i) What data is necessary to compare how school districts are performing before the essential academic learning requirements and the assessment system are implemented with how school districts are performing after the essential academic learning requirements and the assessment system are implemented; and
     (ii) What data is necessary pertaining to school district reports under the accountability systems developed by the commission on student learning under this section;
     (i) Recommend to the legislature, governor, state board of education, and superintendent of public instruction:
     (i) A statewide accountability system to monitor and evaluate accurately and fairly at elementary, middle, and high schools the level of learning occurring in individual schools and school districts with regard to the goals included in RCW 28A.150.210 (1) through (4). The accountability system must assess each school individually against its own baseline, schools with similar characteristics, and schools statewide. The system shall include school-site, school district, and state-level accountability reports;
     (ii) A school assistance program to help schools and school districts that are having difficulty helping students meet the essential academic learning requirements as measured by performance on the elementary, middle school, and high school assessments;
     (iii) A system to intervene in schools and school districts in which significant numbers of students persistently fail to learn the essential academic learning requirements or meet the standards established for the elementary, middle school, and high school assessments; and
     (iv) An awards program to provide incentives to school staff to help their students learn the essential academic learning requirements, with each school being assessed individually against its own baseline, schools with similar characteristics, and the statewide average. Incentives shall be based on the rate of percentage change of students achieving the essential academic learning requirements and progress on meeting the statewide average. School staff shall determine how the awards will be spent.
     The commission shall make recommendations regarding a statewide accountability system for reading in grades kindergarten through four by November 1, 1997. Recommendations for an accountability system in the other subject areas and grade levels shall be made no later than June 30, 1999;
     (j) Report annually by December 1st to the legislature, the governor, the superintendent of public instruction, and the state board of education on the progress, findings, and recommendations of the commission; and
     (k) Make recommendations to the legislature and take other actions necessary or desirable to help students meet the student learning goals.
     (4) The commission shall coordinate its activities with the state board of education and the office of the superintendent of public instruction.
     (5) The commission shall seek advice broadly from the public and all interested educational organizations in the conduct of its work, including holding periodic regional public hearings.
     (6) The commission shall select an entity to provide staff support and the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall provide administrative oversight and be the fiscal agent for the commission. The commission may direct the office of the superintendent of public instruction to enter into subcontracts, within the commission's resources, with school districts, teachers, higher education faculty, state agencies, business organizations, and other individuals and organizations to assist the commission in its deliberations.
     (7) Members of the commission shall be reimbursed for travel expenses as provided in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
     (8)(a) By September 30, 1997, the commission on student learning, the state board of education, and the superintendent of public instruction shall jointly present recommendations to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate regarding the high school assessments, the certificate of mastery, and high school graduation requirements.
     In preparing recommendations, the commission on student learning shall convene an ad hoc working group to address questions, including:
     (i) What type of document shall be used to identify student performance and achievement and how will the document be described?
     (ii) Should the students be required to pass the high school assessments in all skill and content areas, or only in select skill and content areas, to graduate?
     (iii) How will the criteria for establishing the standards for passing scores on the assessments be determined?
     (iv) What timeline should be used in phasing-in the assessments as a graduation requirement?
     (v) What options may be used in demonstrating how the results of the assessments will be displayed in a way that is meaningful to students, parents, institutions of higher education, and potential employers?
     (vi) Are there other or additional methods by which the assessments could be used to identify achievement such as endorsements, standards of proficiency, merit badges, or levels of achievement?
     (vii) Should the assessments and certificate of mastery be used to satisfy college or university entrance criteria for public school students? If yes, how should these methods be phased-in?
     (b) The ad hoc working group shall report its recommendations to the commission on student learning, the state board of education, and the superintendent of public instruction by June 15, 1997. The commission shall report the ad hoc working group's recommendations to the education committees of the house of representatives and senate by July 15, 1997. Final recommendations of the commission on student learning, the state board of education, and the superintendent of public instruction shall be presented to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate by September 30, 1997.
     (9) The Washington commission on student learning shall expire on June 30, 1999.

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