BILL REQ. #:  H-1508.1 

Read first time 02/14/2005.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to alternative assessments; amending RCW 28A.655.061; adding a new section to chapter 28A.655 RCW; and providing an effective date.

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)(a) The legislature finds that education reform includes four learning goals, with two of the four goals focused on critical thinking, problem solving, and understanding the importance of work and how performance, effort, and decisions directly affect future career and educational opportunities. The legislature also finds that the original vision of education reform included performance-based measures that would allow students to demonstrate, through multiple ways, the knowledge and skills they had learned in school. The legislature finds that, because students come to school with different learning styles, the state's assessment system needs to include a variety of ways for students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills that they have acquired. Some students learn best through the hands-on active learning models typically available in career and technical education programs. In addition, some students are able to do a better job of showing their knowledge and skills through active demonstrations rather than through paper and pencil tests.
     (b) The legislature intends to honor the last two goals and the original vision of education reform by giving students an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills through rigorous career and technical education assessment alternatives that lead to industry certification.
     (2)(a) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with interested school districts, shall design a career and technical assessment alternative that:
     (i) Is available to students enrolled in comprehensive career and technical education programs that lead to written, widely accepted state or national industry certification when the industry certification requires that the students demonstrate their skills and knowledge through an objective assessment or evaluation and the skills and knowledge included in the program are aligned to the state's high school reading, writing, mathematics, and science essential learnings;
     (ii) Is available in programs that have previously been approved by the office of the superintendent of public instruction for the purpose of the assessment alternative; and
     (iii) Is piloted beginning with the 2006-07 school year through the end of the 2011-12 school year, with an evaluation of its effectiveness and biennial reports to the legislature on its implementation. The biennial reports shall include the number of programs offering the alternative, the number of students in each program, and the aggregate results of participating students on the Washington assessment of student learning and the assessment or evaluation used to determine industry certification. Students in the pilot must take the high school assessment of student learning at least once and may be required to take a placement test used by the community and technical colleges to ascertain whether they would be able to transition to postsecondary work if they so chose.
     (b) By October 2012, the superintendent of public instruction shall provide a final report on the pilots to the house of representatives and senate committees responsible for education policy. The final report shall include a recommendation on whether to eliminate or continue the assessment alternative for career and technical education programs that lead to industry certification.

Sec. 2   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. However, students enrolled in career or technical programs that lead to industry certification may participate in an assessment alternative under section 1 of this act without retaking the Washington assessment of student learning. 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.
     (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)(a) 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.
     (b) 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)) their determination of student achievement of the state standards.
     (c) For students enrolled in career or technical programs that lead to industry certification, successful completion of the industry certification requirements satisfy the requirements of (b) of this subsection if the programs and assessment alternatives both have been previously approved by the superintendent of public instruction and meet the requirements of section 1 of this act.
     (d) 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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act takes effect August 1, 2005.