BILL REQ. #:  H-4588.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.   

     AN ACT Relating to college placement tests for high school students; adding a new section to chapter 28A.230 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that too many students graduate from high school and find themselves academically unprepared for postsecondary study, including students who thought they were enrolled in a college preparatory program while in high school. The legislature further finds that some students, particularly those whose parents did not attend college, do not pursue postsecondary study because they are unaware they have the potential to succeed in higher education. Therefore, the legislature intends to make college placement tests widely available in high schools and encourage high school students, their parents, and their teachers to use the tests as a tool for planning and preparing for their future.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.230 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The superintendent of public instruction shall reimburse school districts, from funds appropriated for this purpose, for college placement tests that districts annually offer to students in tenth or eleventh grade. Districts shall encourage but may not require students to take the test. A district intending to offer a college placement test under this section shall consult with a local community or technical college or other public institution of higher education in the region before selecting a test.
     (2) Students in home-based instruction under chapter 28A.200 RCW may participate with students at the public school in college placement tests offered by a district. If the district is reimbursed for the college placement test under this section, students in home-based instruction shall not be charged for participating in the test.
     (3) The college placement tests shall serve to assist students, parents, and teachers in the planning and selection of appropriate high school courses and to gauge student readiness for postsecondary study, including dual enrollment programs. Results of the tests and relevant student, school, and district characteristics shall be compiled by the superintendent of public instruction to permit research and analysis, including analysis using the unique student identifier, and shall be made available to the parents of those students tested. Aggregate results shall be made available to the public and the legislature.
     (4) For the purposes of this section, "college placement test" means a test designed to provide diagnostic information comparing a student's knowledge and skills in a particular content area to the knowledge and skills typically required for postsecondary study in that area and used to place students into appropriate levels of postsecondary courses.