BILL REQ. #:  H-4446.1 

Read first time 01/25/2006.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to creating opportunities for career and technical students to meet state standards for high school graduation; adding a new section to chapter 28C.04 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.655 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 the superintendent of public instruction has recommended evaluation of a collection of evidence as an objective alternative assessment to the high school Washington assessment of student learning. The legislature further finds that, although the superintendent plans to permit work samples from career and technical courses in the collection, the legislature finds this permission inadequate to provide career and technical students an opportunity to demonstrate the full range of their knowledge and skills in response to the state academic standards. Therefore, the legislature intends to create a clear objective alternative assessment process and framework for students who enroll in rigorous career and technical programs.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28C.04 RCW to read as follows:
     The superintendent of public instruction shall develop a list of approved career and technical education programs that qualify for the objective alternative assessment developed under section 3 of this act. Programs on the list must meet the following minimum criteria:
     (1) Lead to a certificate or credential that is nationally recognized by trades, industries, or other professional associations as necessary for employment or advancement in that field;
     (2) Require a vocationally intensive and rigorous course of study with the equivalent of one thousand eighty hours of study; and
     (3) Have a high potential for providing the program completer with gainful employment or entry into a postsecondary work force training program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28A.655 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) For each career and technical education program approved under section 2 of this act, the superintendent of public instruction shall identify the specific work samples that a student enrolled in the program may collect and submit as a collection of evidence for an objective alternative assessment under RCW 28A.655.061.
     (2) The work samples shall be relevant to the career and technical program and focus on the application of academic knowledge and skills within the program. Work samples shall include completed activities or projects where demonstration of academic knowledge is inferred.
     (3) The work samples shall be related to the essential academic learning requirements and state standards that students must meet to earn a certificate of academic achievement or certificate of individual achievement, but need not precisely correspond with each component, strand, or level of knowledge assessed by the Washington assessment of student learning. The superintendent of public instruction shall give weight to the knowledge and skills that successful individuals in the career and technical field of the approved program are expected to possess, and the ways such knowledge and skills are typically demonstrated.
     (4) The superintendent shall consult with community and technical colleges, employers, the work force training and education coordinating board, apprenticeship programs, and other regional and national experts in career and technical education to create the most appropriate collection of work samples and other evidence of a career and technical student's knowledge and skills on the state academic standards.