3127-S AMH CLEM MCLA 089
SHB 3127 - H AMD 770
By Representative Clements
WITHDRAWN 2/14/2006
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28A.655 RCW to read as follows:
(1) After January 1, 2008, school district board of directors shall have the option not to administer the Washington assessment of student learning. The option not to administer the Washington assessment of student learning may be applied to any grade level and any content area. A school district board of directors shall exercise the option under this section only through a resolution adopted by the board at a regularly scheduled meeting, a copy of which shall be forwarded within thirty days of adoption to the superintendent of public instruction.
(2) From the total state funds appropriated for the Washington assessment of student learning, the superintendent of public instruction shall calculate a per-student cost of developing, distributing, grading, and administering the assessment. Upon receipt of a board resolution under this section, the superintendent shall calculate, using the per-student cost, the savings associated with the board's decision not to administer the Washington assessment of student learning and shall remit the amount of the savings to the school district. The school district shall use the funds remitted under this subsection (2) to support kindergarten or early learning programs.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.655 RCW to read as follows:
(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall revise the Washington state accountability plan required under section 1111 of P.L. 107-110, the no child left behind act of 2001, to reflect the school district option authorized under section 1 of this act and shall submit the plan to the United States department of education requesting a waiver of the provisions of P.L. 107-110 pertaining to state assessment systems.
(2) The superintendent of public instruction may adopt rules and policies to implement section 1 of this act, which shall take effect by January 1, 2008.
Sec. 3. RCW 28A.655.061 and 2004 c 19 s 101 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The high school assessment system shall include but need not be limited to the Washington assessment of student learning, opportunities for a student to retake the content areas of the assessment in which the student was not successful, and if approved by the legislature pursuant to subsection (11) of this section, one or more objective alternative assessments for a student to demonstrate achievement of state academic standards. The objective alternative assessments for each content area shall be comparable in rigor to the skills and knowledge that the student must demonstrate on the Washington assessment of student learning for each content area.
(2) Subject to the conditions in this section, a certificate of academic achievement shall be obtained by most students at about the age of sixteen, and is evidence that the students have successfully met the state standard in the content areas included in the certificate. With the exception of students satisfying the provisions of RCW 28A.155.045, acquisition of the certificate is required for graduation from a public high school but is not the only requirement for graduation.
(3) Beginning with the graduating class of 2008, with the exception of students satisfying the provisions of RCW 28A.155.045, a student who meets the state standards on the reading, writing, and mathematics content areas of the high school Washington assessment of student learning shall earn a certificate of academic achievement. If a student does not successfully meet the state standards in one or more content areas required for the certificate of academic achievement, then the student may retake the assessment in the content area up to four times at no cost to the student. If the student successfully meets the state standards on a retake of the assessment then the student shall earn a certificate of academic achievement. Once objective alternative assessments are authorized pursuant to subsection (11) of this section, a student may use the objective alternative assessments to demonstrate that the student successfully meets the state standards for that content area if the student has retaken the Washington assessment of student learning at least once. If the student successfully meets the state standards on the objective alternative assessments then the student shall earn a certificate of academic achievement. The student's transcript shall note whether the certificate of academic achievement was acquired by means of the Washington assessment of student learning or by an alternative assessment.
(4) Beginning with the graduating class of 2010, a student must meet the state standards in science in addition to the other content areas required under subsection (3) of this section on the Washington assessment of student learning or the objective alternative assessments in order to earn a certificate of academic achievement.
(5) The state board of education may not require the acquisition of the certificate of academic achievement for students in home-based instruction under chapter 28A.200 RCW, for students enrolled in private schools under chapter 28A.195 RCW, ((or)) for students satisfying the provisions of RCW 28A.155.045, or for students enrolled in a school district that has exercised the option created under section 1 of this act not to administer the high school Washington assessment of student learning.
(6) A student may retain and use the highest result from each successfully completed content area of the high school assessment.
(7) Beginning with the graduating class of 2006, the highest scale score and level achieved in each content area on the high school Washington assessment of student learning shall be displayed on a student's transcript. In addition, beginning with the graduating class of 2008, each student shall receive a scholar's designation on his or her transcript for each content area in which the student achieves level four the first time the student takes that content area assessment.
(8) Beginning in 2006, school districts must make available to students the following options:
(a) To retake the Washington assessment of student learning up to four times in the content areas in which the student did not meet the state standards if the student is enrolled in a public school; or
(b) To retake the Washington assessment of student learning up to four times in the content areas in which the student did not meet the state standards if the student is enrolled in a high school completion program at a community or technical college. The superintendent of public instruction and the state board for community and technical colleges shall jointly identify means by which students in these programs can be assessed.
(9) Students who achieve the standard in a content area of the high school assessment but who wish to improve their results shall pay for retaking the assessment, using a uniform cost determined by the superintendent of public instruction.
(10) Subject to available funding, the superintendent shall pilot opportunities for retaking the high school assessment beginning in the 2004-05 school year. Beginning no later than September 2006, opportunities to retake the assessment at least twice a year shall be available to each school district.
(11) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall develop options for implementing objective alternative assessments, which may include an appeals process, for students to demonstrate achievement of the state academic standards. The objective alternative assessments shall be comparable in rigor to the skills and knowledge that the student must demonstrate on the Washington assessment of student learning and be objective in its determination of student achievement of the state standards. Before any objective alternative assessments are used by a student to demonstrate that the student has met the state standards in a content area required to obtain a certificate, the legislature shall formally approve the use of any objective alternative assessments through the omnibus appropriations act or by statute or concurrent resolution.
(12) By December 15, 2004, the house of representatives and senate education committees shall obtain information and conclusions from recognized, independent, national assessment experts regarding the validity and reliability of the high school Washington assessment of student learning for making individual student high school graduation determinations.
(13) To help assure continued progress in academic achievement as a foundation for high school graduation and to assure that students are on track for high school graduation, each school district shall prepare plans for students as provided in this subsection (13).
(a) Student learning plans are required for eighth through twelfth grade students who were not successful on any or all of the content areas of the Washington assessment for student learning during the previous school year. The plan shall include the courses, competencies, and other steps needed to be taken by the student to meet state academic standards and stay on track for graduation. This requirement shall be phased in as follows:
(i) Beginning no later than the 2004-05 school year ninth grade students as described in this subsection (13)(a) shall have a plan.
(ii) Beginning no later than the 2005-06 school year and every year thereafter eighth grade students as described in this subsection (13)(a) shall have a plan.
(iii) The parent or guardian shall be notified, preferably through a parent conference, of the student's results on the Washington assessment of student learning, actions the school intends to take to improve the student's skills in any content area in which the student was unsuccessful, strategies to help them improve their student's skills, and the content of the student's plan.
(iv) Progress made on the student plan shall be reported to the student's parents or guardian at least annually and adjustments to the plan made as necessary.
(b) Beginning with the 2005-06 school year and every year thereafter, all fifth grade students who were not successful in one or more of the content areas of the fourth grade Washington assessment of student learning shall have a student learning plan.
(i) The parent or guardian of a student described in this subsection (13)(b) shall be notified, preferably through a parent conference, of the student's results on the Washington assessment of student learning, actions the school intends to take to improve the student's skills in any content area in which the student was unsuccessful, and provide strategies to help them improve their student's skills.
(ii) Progress made on the student plan shall be reported to the student's parents or guardian at least annually and adjustments to the plan made as necessary.
Sec. 4. RCW 28A.655.070 and 2005 c 497 s 106 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop essential academic learning requirements that 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, develop student assessments, and implement the accountability recommendations and requests regarding assistance, rewards, and recognition of the state board of education.
(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall:
(a) Periodically revise the essential academic learning requirements, as needed, based on the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210. Goals one and two shall be considered primary. To the maximum extent possible, the superintendent shall integrate goal four and the knowledge and skill areas in the other goals in the essential academic learning requirements; and
(b) Review and prioritize the essential academic learning requirements and identify, with clear and concise descriptions, the grade level content expectations to be assessed on the Washington assessment of student learning and used for state or federal accountability purposes. The review, prioritization, and identification shall result in more focus and targeting with an emphasis on depth over breadth in the number of grade level content expectations assessed at each grade level. Grade level content expectations shall be articulated over the grades as a sequence of expectations and performances that are logical, build with increasing depth after foundational knowledge and skills are acquired, and reflect, where appropriate, the sequential nature of the discipline. The office of the superintendent of public instruction, within seven working days, shall post on its web site any grade level content expectations provided to an assessment vendor for use in constructing the Washington assessment of student learning.
(3) In consultation with the state board of education, the superintendent of public instruction shall maintain and continue to develop and revise a statewide academic assessment system in the content areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and science for use in the elementary, middle, and high school years designed to determine if each student has mastered the essential academic learning requirements identified in subsection (1) of this section. Except school districts that have exercised the option under section 1 of this act not to administer the Washington assessment of student learning, school districts shall administer the assessments under guidelines adopted by the superintendent of public instruction. The academic assessment system shall include a variety of assessment methods, including criterion-referenced and performance-based measures.
(4) If the superintendent proposes any modification to the essential academic learning requirements or the statewide assessments, then the 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.
(5)(a) 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 mastered the essential academic learning requirements at the appropriate periods in the student's educational development.
(b) Assessments measuring the essential academic learning requirements in the content area of science shall be available for mandatory use in middle schools and high schools by the 2003-04 school year and for mandatory use in elementary schools by the 2004-05 school year unless the legislature takes action to delay or prevent implementation of the assessment.
(6) By September 2007, the results for reading and mathematics shall be reported in a format that will allow parents and teachers to determine the academic gain a student has acquired in those content areas from one school year to the next.
(7) To assist parents and teachers in their efforts to provide educational support to individual students, the superintendent of public instruction shall provide as much individual student performance information as possible within the constraints of the assessment system's item bank. The superintendent shall also provide to school districts:
(a) Information on classroom-based and other assessments that may provide additional achievement information for individual students; and
(b) A collection of diagnostic tools that educators may use to evaluate the academic status of individual students. The tools shall be designed to be inexpensive, easily administered, and quickly and easily scored, with results provided in a format that may be easily shared with parents and students.
(8) To the maximum extent possible, the superintendent shall integrate knowledge and skill areas in development of the assessments.
(9) 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.
(10) The superintendent 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.
(11) The superintendent shall consider methods to address the unique needs of special education students when developing the assessments under this section.
(12) The superintendent shall consider methods to address the unique needs of highly capable students when developing the assessments under this section.
(13) The superintendent shall post on the superintendent's web site lists of resources and model assessments in social studies, the arts, and health and fitness.
Sec. 5. RCW 28A.230.090 and 2005 c 205 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The state board of education shall establish high school graduation requirements or equivalencies for students.
(a) Any course in Washington state history and government used to fulfill high school graduation requirements shall consider including information on the culture, history, and government of the American Indian peoples who were the first inhabitants of the state.
(b) Except for students enrolled in a school district that has exercised the option created under section 1 of this act not to administer the high school Washington assessment of student learning, the certificate of academic achievement requirements under RCW 28A.655.061 or the certificate of individual achievement requirements under RCW 28A.155.045 are required for graduation from a public high school but are not the only requirements for graduation.
(c) Any decision on whether a student has met the state board's high school graduation requirements for a high school and beyond plan shall remain at the local level.
(2) In recognition of the statutory authority of the state board of education to establish and enforce minimum high school graduation requirements, the state board shall periodically reevaluate the graduation requirements and shall report such findings to the legislature in a timely manner as determined by the state board.
(3) Pursuant to any requirement for instruction in languages other than English established by the state board of education or a local school district, or both, for purposes of high school graduation, students who receive instruction in American sign language or one or more American Indian languages shall be considered to have satisfied the state or local school district graduation requirement for instruction in one or more languages other than English.
(4) If requested by the student and his or her family, a student who has completed high school courses before attending high school shall be given high school credit which shall be applied to fulfilling high school graduation requirements if:
(a) The course was taken with high school students, if the academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth grade classes, and the student has successfully passed by completing the same course requirements and examinations as the high school students enrolled in the class; or
(b) The academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth grade classes and the course would qualify for high school credit, because the course is similar or equivalent to a course offered at a high school in the district as determined by the school district board of directors.
(5) Students who have taken and successfully completed high school courses under the circumstances in subsection (4) of this section shall not be required to take an additional competency examination or perform any other additional assignment to receive credit.
(6) At the college or university level, five quarter or three semester hours equals one high school credit.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 1, 3, 4, and 5 of this act take effect January 1, 2008."
Correct the title.
EFFECT: Effective January 1, 2008, school districts may opt out of administering the WASL at any grade level and in any content area. A copy of the school board resolution exercising this option must be forwarded to SPI within 30 days of adoption. SPI calculates the savings in state WASL administration using a per-student cost and remits the savings to the district, which must use the funds on kindergarten and early learning. SPI must revise the federal accountability plan under the No Child Left Behind Act and adopt appropriate rules and policies by January 1, 2008. Students in districts that have opted out of the high school WASL are not required to earn a Certificate of Academic Achievement for high school graduation.