Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Education Committee

2SSB 5427

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Second Substitute Bill

Requires school districts receiving all-day kindergarten support to agree to utilize a kindergarten assessment specified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Allows parents and guardians to excuse their students from participating in the assessment.
Requires the director of the Department of Early Learning to seek input from the University of Washington with respect to the assessment process' cultural responsiveness, usefulness, parent involvement, and cost benefits.

Background:

Kindergarten Assessment Pilot.

In 2009 the Legislature provided $100,000 over the biennium, contingent on an equal match from private sources, for the Department of Early Learning (DEL) to work with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and others to identify and test a kindergarten assessment process and tools in geographically diverse school districts. It is being piloted during the 2010-11 school year in 115 classrooms around the state, with approximately 2600 kindergarten students. The DEL submitted a mid-year report to the Legislature on January 15, 2011. A final report will be available in the summer of 2011.

All-Day Kindergarten.

Schools receiving all-day kindergarten support must agree to:

provide at least 1,000 hours of instructional program;

provide a curriculum that offers a rich, varied set of experiences that assist students in:
developing a variety of communication skills;
learning science, social studies, arts, health and physical education, and a world language other than English;
acquiring large and small motor skills;
acquiring social and emotional skills including successful participation in learning activities as an individual and as part of a group; and
learning through hands-on experiences;

provide learning environments that are developmentally appropriate and promote creativity;
demonstrate strong connections and communication with early learning providers; and
participate in kindergarten program readiness activities with early learning providers and parents.

Summary of Bill:

A new condition is added for receipt of all-day kindergarten funding. Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, and to the extent funds are available, schools receiving all-day kindergarten support must also agree to identify the skills, knowledge, and characteristics of kindergarten students at the beginning of the school year. Kindergarten teachers must utilize a kindergarten assessment process specified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (Superintendent), in consultation with the DEL. The results must be reported to the Superintendent. Parents and guardians may excuse their students from participating in the assessment.

The purposes of a kindergarten assessment are articulated as follows:

to determine kindergarten readiness; and
to inform instruction to meet needs of individual students.

Before implementation, the director of the DEL must seek input from the University of Washington on a kindergarten assessment process that addresses issues of cultural responsiveness, accommodations and usefulness for children with disabilities, parent involvement and satisfaction, potential for improving instruction, and cost benefits.

The Superintendent is required to make the assessment process available on a voluntary basis at the beginning of the 2011-12 school year.