BILL REQ. #:  H-4180.1 

Read first time 01/18/2006.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to the high school assessment system; and amending RCW 28A.655.061.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28A.655.061 and 2004 c 19 s 101 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Beginning in the 2007-08 school year, the high school assessment system shall ((include but need not be limited to the Washington assessment of student learning,)) provide certified assessment options for the purpose of demonstrating a student has met state learning standards. Students in the graduating classes of 2008 and 2009 shall have 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))) (13) of this section, one or more ((objective alternative assessments)) certified assessment options 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) Beginning in the 2007-08 school year, students shall have the option to select a certified assessment option other than the Washington assessment of student learning to demonstrate that they have met state learning standards in reading, math, writing, and, beginning with the class of 2010, science. Certified assessment options shall include but not be limited to portfolios, industry certification tests, and other career and technical education assessments used to determine readiness for work force entry or higher education, and college entrance exams.
     (3) Prior to the beginning of the 2007-08 school year, the state board of education shall establish a procedure for certification of assessment options that lead to a certificate of academic achievement. Certification of assessment alternative options shall be based upon demonstrated alignment with the state learning standards including school to work goals. The level of student performance necessary to meet state learning standards shall be comparable between all assessments.
     (4) An advisory committee shall be established by the state board of education for the purpose of assisting the state board of education in carrying out this section. The advisory committee shall be broadly representative, including members who are educators, parents, and representatives of cultural, linguistic, and racial minority groups, and the community of persons with disabilities. In developing the process for certification of assessment options the state board of education shall:
     (a) Review national tests including, but not limited to, the scholastic aptitude test, SAT subject tests, preliminary scholastic aptitude test, ACT assessment, advanced placement, and career skill certification exams to determine whether students performing at specified levels on such tests have demonstrated that they meet state learning standards in one or more of the following areas: Reading, writing, math, or science;
     (b) With assistance from a nationally recognized center affiliated with a nonprofit or public university that has conducted national research and evaluation of high school assessments, evaluate research and analyze existing assessment methods and systems in other states, including but not limited to those states that have added multiple measures to existing state developed tests and those states that have moved from the use of state developed tests to other assessment methods. Such analysis shall include: (i) The effects of assessments referenced in (a) of this subsection and other measures including portfolios on improvement of student performance; (ii) the disaggregation of results for subgroups within the population; (iii) the cost of the assessments or other measures on a per student basis and the need for additional instructional resources; and (iv) the ability of the assessment or other measure to provide necessary diagnostic information for the improvement of instruction;
     (c) With assistance from a nationally recognized center for multicultural education, identify and adopt or develop culturally relevant assessments for students from demographic groups that have significant difficulty with the Washington assessment of student learning and are overrepresented as failures under the current assessment system. Such assessment options shall be aligned with the state learning standards and shall be comparable to other certified assessment options;
     (d) Review the electronic portfolios developed in Washington state to determine whether this method of collecting and presenting student work can be adapted for cost-effective use as a certified assessment alternatives option; and
     (e) Review internship, service learning, and apprenticeship models to determine whether they can be used as an assessment option for some or all of the required areas.
     (5) 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. The graduation requirement in this section shall apply when the state board of education has certified at least three assessment options as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the legislature has approved the certification process as provided in subsection (13) of this section, and students have been given at least one academic year to complete an assessment option to obtain a certificate of academic achievement.
     (((3))) (6) 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 or other certified assessment option 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)) certified assessment options are authorized pursuant to subsection (((11))) (13) of this section, a student may use the ((objective alternative assessments)) certified assessment options 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))) (7) 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))) (6) of this section on the Washington assessment of student learning or ((the objective alternative assessments)) certified assessment options in order to earn a certificate of academic achievement.
     (((5))) (8) 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))) (9) 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))) (10) Beginning in 2006, school districts must make available to students the following options:
     (a) To retake the Washington assessment of student learning or certified assessment option 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 or certified assessment option 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))) (11) Beginning in 2007, school districts must permit students to choose a certified option for demonstrating they meet state learning standards in order to obtain a certificate of academic achievement.
     (a) Districts must make the certified assessment options available to all high school students within the district.
     (b) Districts shall permit students to choose a certified assessment option prior to the time they take the high school Washington assessment of student learning.
     (12) 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.))
     (13) The state board of education shall establish a procedure for certification of assessment options for students to demonstrate achievement of the state academic standards. Before any ((objective alternative assessments)) certified assessment options 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)) the process for certifying and adopting assessment options through the omnibus appropriations act or by statute or concurrent resolution.
     (((12))) (14) 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))) (15) 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))) (15).
     (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))) (15)(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))) (15)(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))) (15)(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.