AN ACT Relating to increasing academic rigor and streamlining assessment requirements for high school students; amending RCW 28A.655.061, 28A.230.090, 28A.655.066, 28A.655.068, 28A.655.070, 28A.230.125, 28A.320.195, and 28A.700.080; creating a new section; repealing RCW 28A.655.063, 28A.655.065, and 28A.655.066; and providing an effective date.

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

(2) The legislature recognizes that, in today's competitive global economy, it is not enough for Washington's students to meet a minimum level of competency. To be successful in postsecondary education, gainful employment, and citizenship requires increased rigor and achievement. To that end, the state has recently adopted new, academically rigorous policies to better prepare students for future success. Starting in spring 2015, Washington students will be tested using a comprehensive assessment system developed with a multistate consortium. This system, the smarter balanced assessment, will evaluate students in grades three through eight and grade eleven on their college and career readiness based on the Washington state learning standards in English language arts and mathematics and will be used for state and federal accountability purposes. In addition, students beginning with the graduating class of 2019 will also have the requirement to earn twenty-four credits for high school graduation to obtain a more meaningful diploma. Schools also have put a great deal of time and effort into ensuring quality instruction through the teacher and principal evaluation program, a four-tiered system that establishes eight new criteria for teachers' and principals' evaluations. Finally, Washington adopted new, academically rigorous next generation science standards (NGSS) in 2013. A comprehensive science assessment of the next generation science standards is currently being developed and is expected to become operational statewide in spring 2017 or 2018.

(3) The legislature further finds that the transition to the smarter balanced assessment system has markedly complicated the development and administration of the statewide assessment graduation requirement and the state's confusing array of alternative assessments. The classes of 2016 through 2018 are required to take end-of-course exams or comprehensive assessments in the tenth grade to fulfill graduation requirements for English language arts, mathematics, and biology. In addition, they are required to take the smarter balanced assessments in the eleventh grade to determine if they are college and career ready and for school and district accountability.

(4) The legislature finds that requiring schools to administer six high school assessments—the smarter balanced English language arts assessment, smarter balanced mathematics, the end-of-course assessment for biology, two mathematics end-of-course assessments, and the English language arts exit exam—creates a costly system in which too much classroom time and too many state resources are devoted to taking and retaking tests for graduation purposes. The time and funding that are now invested in Washington's current state graduation assessments do not result in students meeting a college or career ready measure accepted by postsecondary institutions and organizations.

(5) The legislature further finds that locally directed remediation and intervention strategies, including twelfth grade transition courses, opportunities to retake courses, and more sustained focus on providing college and career guidance through students' high school and beyond plans, would better prepare students for postsecondary college and career opportunities. State and local resources that are now directed to develop and administer alternative graduation assessments should be redirected to courses and programs better suited for student needs during high school.

(6) The legislature further finds that taxpayers and tuition payers can save substantial money by avoiding remedial courses taught at public institutions of higher education. An unprecedented agreement among Washington's public institutions of higher education now ensures that high school graduates who meet standard on the smarter balanced assessment or who successfully complete twelfth grade high school transition courses in English language arts and mathematics will move directly to college-level English and mathematics courses at participating institutions without remediation or additional placement testing.

(7) The legislature therefore intends to eliminate the tenth grade assessment and the myriad of alternative assessments that students may use to obtain a certificate of academic achievement. In their place, students will be required to meet standard on the smarter balanced English language arts and mathematics assessments administered in the eleventh grade. The legislature further intends to require students who fail to meet the standard on the smarter balanced assessments to take and pass locally determined courses in their senior year that align with their college or career goals, including, when available, high school transition courses.

(8) It is the intent of the legislature for Washington to administer only three statewide assessments: The smarter balanced assessment in English language arts, the smarter balanced assessment in mathematics, and the statewide assessment in science, including, when operational, the comprehensive next generation science standards assessment.

Sec. 2.  RCW 28A.655.061 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 22 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The high school assessment system shall include ((but need not be limited to)) the statewide student assessment((,)) and 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 (10) 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 statewide student assessment for each content area)).

(2) Subject to the conditions in this section, a certificate of academic achievement shall be obtained 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 ((or 28A.655.0611)), acquisition of the certificate is required for graduation from a public high school but is not the only requirement for graduation.

(3)(a) Beginning with the graduating class of 2008 through the graduating class of 2015, 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 high school statewide student assessment shall earn a certificate of academic achievement. Students in the graduating class of 2016 who meet the state standard on the mathematics high school statewide assessment may earn a certificate of academic achievement. The mathematics assessment shall be the end-of-course assessment for the first year of high school mathematics that assesses the standards common to algebra I and integrated mathematics I or the end-of-course assessment for the second year of high school mathematics that assesses standards common to geometry and integrated mathematics II.

(b) ((As the state transitions from reading and writing assessments to an English language arts assessment and from end-of-course assessments to a comprehensive assessment for high school mathematics, a student in a graduating class of 2016 through 2018 shall earn a certificate of academic achievement if the student meets the state standard as follows:

(c))) Beginning with the graduating class of ((2019)) 2016, a student who ((meets the state standards)) earns a score of level 3 or level 4 on the high school English language arts assessment developed with the multistate consortium and the comprehensive mathematics assessment developed with the multistate consortium shall earn a certificate of academic achievement.

(((d))) (c) If a student does not ((successfully meet the state standards in)) earn a score of level 3 or level 4 on one or more content areas required for the certificate of academic achievement, ((then)) the student may retake the assessment in the content area ((at least twice a year)) once in his or her senior year at no cost to the student. If the student ((successfully meets the state standards)) earns a score of level 3 or level 4 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 (10) 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 taken the statewide student assessment 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.))

(4) Beginning with the graduating class of ((2015, 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 statewide student assessment, a retake, or the objective alternative assessments in order to)) 2016, a student who takes and passes a locally determined course in English language arts or mathematics under RCW 28A.230.090 (1)(e) shall 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)) English language arts assessment developed with the multistate consortium and the comprehensive mathematics assessment developed with the multistate consortium.

(7) School districts must make available to students the following options:

(a) To retake the ((statewide student assessment at least twice a year)) high school English language arts assessment developed with the multistate consortium and the comprehensive mathematics assessment developed with the multistate consortium once in the student's senior year in the content areas in which the student did not ((meet the state standards)) earn a score of level 3 or level 4 if the student is enrolled in a public school; or

(b) To retake the ((statewide student assessment at least twice a year)) high school English language arts assessment developed with the multistate consortium and the comprehensive mathematics assessment developed with the multistate consortium once in the student's senior year in the content areas in which the student did not ((meet the state standards)) earn a score of level 3 or level 4 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.

(8) Students who achieve the standard in a content area of the ((high school assessment)) English language arts assessment developed with the multistate consortium and the comprehensive mathematics assessment developed with the multistate consortium but who wish to improve their results shall pay for retaking the assessment, using a uniform cost determined by the superintendent of public instruction.

Sec. 3.  RCW 28A.230.090 and 2014 c 217 s 202 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The state board of education shall establish high school graduation requirements or equivalencies for students, except as provided in RCW 28A.230.122 and except those equivalencies established by local high schools or school districts under RCW 28A.230.097. The purpose of a high school diploma is to declare that a student is ready for success in postsecondary education, gainful employment, and citizenship, and is equipped with the skills to be a lifelong learner.

(a) Any course in Washington state history and government used to fulfill high school graduation requirements shall consider including information on the culture, history, and government of the American Indian peoples who were the first inhabitants of the state.

(b) The certificate of academic achievement requirements under RCW 28A.655.061 or the certificate of individual achievement requirements under RCW 28A.155.045 are required for graduation from a public high school but are not the only requirements for graduation.

(c) Each student shall have a high school and beyond plan to guide the student's high school experience and prepare the student for postsecondary education or training and career. A high school and beyond plan must be initiated for each student during the eighth grade. In preparation for initiating that plan, each student shall first be administered a career interest and skills inventory. The plan must be updated annually during the high school grades to review transcripts, assess progress toward identified goals, and revise as necessary for changing interests, goals, and needs. School districts are encouraged to involve parents and guardians in the process of developing and updating the high school and beyond plan. The high school and beyond plan must include the following minimum elements:

(d) Any decision on whether a student has met the state board's high school graduation requirements for a high school and beyond plan shall remain at the local level. A district may provide for additional, local requirements for a high school and beyond plan as it may identify to serve the needs and interests of its students and the purposes of this section.

(f) Effective with the graduating class of 2015, the state board of education may not establish a requirement for students to complete a culminating project for graduation.

(((d))) (g)(i) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement the career and college ready graduation requirement proposal adopted under board resolution on November 10, 2010, and revised on January 9, 2014, to take effect beginning with the graduating class of 2019 or as otherwise provided in this subsection (1)(((d))) (g). The rules must include authorization for a school district to waive up to two credits for individual students based on unusual circumstances and in accordance with written policies that must be adopted by each board of directors of a school district that grants diplomas. The rules must also provide that the content of the third credit of mathematics and the content of the third credit of science may be chosen by the student based on the student's interests and high school and beyond plan with agreement of the student's parent or guardian or agreement of the school counselor or principal.

(ii) School districts may apply to the state board of education for a waiver to implement the career and college ready graduation requirement proposal beginning with the graduating class of 2020 or 2021 instead of the graduating class of 2019. In the application, a school district must describe why the waiver is being requested, the specific impediments preventing timely implementation, and efforts that will be taken to achieve implementation with the graduating class proposed under the waiver. The state board of education shall grant a waiver under this subsection (1)(((d))) (g) to an applying school district at the next subsequent meeting of the board after receiving an application.

(2)(a) In recognition of the statutory authority of the state board of education to establish and enforce minimum high school graduation requirements, the state board shall periodically reevaluate the graduation requirements and shall report such findings to the legislature in a timely manner as determined by the state board.

(b) The state board shall reevaluate the graduation requirements for students enrolled in vocationally intensive and rigorous career and technical education programs, particularly those programs that lead to a certificate or credential that is state or nationally recognized. The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure that students enrolled in these programs have sufficient opportunity to earn a certificate of academic achievement, complete the program and earn the program's certificate or credential, and complete other state and local graduation requirements.

(c) The state board shall forward any proposed changes to the high school graduation requirements to the education committees of the legislature for review and to the quality education council established under RCW 28A.290.010. The legislature shall have the opportunity to act during a regular legislative session before the changes are adopted through administrative rule by the state board. Changes that have a fiscal impact on school districts, as identified by a fiscal analysis prepared by the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall take effect only if formally authorized and funded by the legislature through the omnibus appropriations act or other enacted legislation.

(3) Pursuant to any requirement for instruction in languages other than English established by the state board of education or a local school district, or both, for purposes of high school graduation, students who receive instruction in American sign language or one or more American Indian languages shall be considered to have satisfied the state or local school district graduation requirement for instruction in one or more languages other than English.

(4) If requested by the student and his or her family, a student who has completed high school courses before attending high school shall be given high school credit which shall be applied to fulfilling high school graduation requirements if:

(a) The course was taken with high school students, if the academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth grade classes, and the student has successfully passed by completing the same course requirements and examinations as the high school students enrolled in the class; or

(b) The academic level of the course exceeds the requirements for seventh and eighth grade classes and the course would qualify for high school credit, because the course is similar or equivalent to a course offered at a high school in the district as determined by the school district board of directors.

(5) Students who have taken and successfully completed high school courses under the circumstances in subsection (4) of this section shall not be required to take an additional competency examination or perform any other additional assignment to receive credit.

(6) At the college or university level, five quarter or three semester hours equals one high school credit.

Sec. 4.  RCW 28A.655.066 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 22 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1)(((a))) In consultation with the state board of education, the superintendent of public instruction shall develop statewide end-of-course assessments for high school mathematics that measure student achievement of the state mathematics standards. The superintendent shall take steps to ensure that the language of the assessments is responsive to a diverse student population. The assessments shall be implemented statewide in the 2010-11 school year through the 2014-15 school year.

(((b))) (2) The superintendent shall develop end-of-course assessments through the 2014-15 school year for the first year of high school mathematics that include the standards common to algebra I and integrated mathematics I and for the second year of high school mathematics that include the standards common to geometry and integrated mathematics II. The assessments under this subsection (((1)(b) shall)) may be used to demonstrate that a student meets the state standard on the mathematics content area of the high school statewide student assessment for purposes of RCW 28A.655.061.

(((c))) (3) The superintendent of public instruction shall also develop subtests for the end-of-course assessments developed through the 2014-15 school year that measure standards for the first two years of high school mathematics that are unique to algebra I, integrated mathematics I, geometry, and integrated mathematics II. The results of the subtests shall be reported at the student, teacher, school, and district level.

Sec. 5.  RCW 28A.655.068 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 22 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Beginning in the 2011-12 school year, the statewide high school assessment in science shall be an end-of-course assessment for biology that measures the state standards for life sciences, in addition to systems, inquiry, and application as they pertain to life sciences.

(2)(a) The superintendent of public instruction may develop or adopt science end-of-course assessments or a comprehensive science assessment ((that includes subjects in addition to biology for purposes of RCW 28A.655.061,)) when so directed by the legislature. The legislature intends to transition from a biology end-of-course assessment to a more comprehensive science assessment in a manner consistent with the way in which the state transitioned to an English language arts assessment and a comprehensive mathematics assessment. ((The legislature further intends that the transition will include at least two years of using the student assessment results from either the biology end-of-course assessment or the more comprehensive assessment in order to provide students with reasonable opportunities to demonstrate high school competencies while being mindful of the increasing rigor of the new assessment.))

(b) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop or adopt a science assessment in accordance with RCW 28A.655.070(10) that is not biased toward persons with different learning styles, racial or ethnic backgrounds, or on the basis of gender.

(3) The superintendent of public instruction may participate with consortia of multiple states as common student learning standards and assessments in science are developed. The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the state board of education, may modify the essential academic learning requirements and statewide student assessments in science, including the high school assessment, according to the multistate common student learning standards and assessments as long as the education committees of the legislature have opportunities for review before the modifications are adopted, as provided under RCW 28A.655.070.

(4) ((The statewide high school assessment under this section shall be used to demonstrate that a student meets the state standards in the science content area of the statewide student assessment for purposes of RCW 28A.655.061.)) After the superintendent of public instruction adopts a comprehensive science assessment under this section and RCW 28A.655.070, there shall be a two-year transition period, including one year to pilot the comprehensive science assessment and a second year to administer the assessment statewide, before students may be required to meet standard on the comprehensive assessment to earn a certificate of academic achievement.

Sec. 6.  RCW 28A.655.070 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 22 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop essential academic learning requirements that identify the knowledge and skills all public school students need to know and be able to do based on the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210, develop student assessments, and implement the accountability recommendations and requests regarding assistance, rewards, and recognition of the state board of education.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall:

(a) Periodically revise the essential academic learning requirements, as needed, based on the student learning goals in RCW 28A.150.210. Goals one and two shall be considered primary. To the maximum extent possible, the superintendent shall integrate goal four and the knowledge and skill areas in the other goals in the essential academic learning requirements; and

(b) Review and prioritize the essential academic learning requirements and identify, with clear and concise descriptions, the grade level content expectations to be assessed on the statewide student assessment and used for state or federal accountability purposes. The review, prioritization, and identification shall result in more focus and targeting with an emphasis on depth over breadth in the number of grade level content expectations assessed at each grade level. Grade level content expectations shall be articulated over the grades as a sequence of expectations and performances that are logical, build with increasing depth after foundational knowledge and skills are acquired, and reflect, where appropriate, the sequential nature of the discipline. The office of the superintendent of public instruction, within seven working days, shall post on its web site any grade level content expectations provided to an assessment vendor for use in constructing the statewide student assessment.

(3)(a) In consultation with the state board of education, the superintendent of public instruction shall maintain and continue to develop and revise a statewide academic assessment system in the content areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and science for use in the elementary, middle, and high school years designed to determine if each student has mastered the essential academic learning requirements identified in subsection (1) of this section. School districts shall administer the assessments under guidelines adopted by the superintendent of public instruction. The academic assessment system may include a variety of assessment methods, including criterion-referenced and performance-based measures.

(b) ((Effective with the 2009 administration of the Washington assessment of student learning and continuing with the statewide student assessment, the superintendent shall redesign the assessment in the content areas of reading, mathematics, and science in all grades except high school by shortening test administration and reducing the number of short answer and extended response questions.

(c) By the 2014-15 school year,)) (i) The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the state board of education, shall modify the statewide student assessment system to transition to assessments developed with a multistate consortium((, as provided in this subsection:

(ii) The assessments developed with a multistate consortium to assess student proficiency in English language arts and mathematics shall be administered beginning in the 2014-15 school year. The reading and writing assessments shall not be administered by the superintendent of public instruction or schools after the 2013-14 school year.

(((ii))) (iii) The high school ((assessments in)) English language arts and mathematics ((in (c)(i) of this subsection)) assessments developed with the multistate consortium shall be used for the purposes of earning a certificate of academic achievement for high school graduation under the timeline established in RCW 28A.655.061 and for assessing student career and college readiness.

(4) If the superintendent proposes any modification to the essential academic learning requirements or the statewide assessments, then the superintendent shall, upon request, provide opportunities for the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate to review the assessments and proposed modifications to the essential academic learning requirements before the modifications are adopted.

(5) The assessment system shall be designed so that the results under the assessment system are used by educators as tools to evaluate instructional practices, and to initiate appropriate educational support for students who have not mastered the essential academic learning requirements at the appropriate periods in the student's educational development.

(6) By September 2007, the results for reading and mathematics shall be reported in a format that will allow parents and teachers to determine the academic gain a student has acquired in those content areas from one school year to the next.

(7) To assist parents and teachers in their efforts to provide educational support to individual students, the superintendent of public instruction shall provide as much individual student performance information as possible within the constraints of the assessment system's item bank. The superintendent shall also provide to school districts:

(a) Information on classroom-based and other assessments that may provide additional achievement information for individual students; and

(b) A collection of diagnostic tools that educators may use to evaluate the academic status of individual students. The tools shall be designed to be inexpensive, easily administered, and quickly and easily scored, with results provided in a format that may be easily shared with parents and students.

(8) To the maximum extent possible, the superintendent shall integrate knowledge and skill areas in development of the assessments.

(9) Assessments for goals three and four of RCW 28A.150.210 shall be integrated in the essential academic learning requirements and assessments for goals one and two.

(10) The superintendent shall develop assessments that are directly related to the essential academic learning requirements, and are not biased toward persons with different learning styles, racial or ethnic backgrounds, or on the basis of gender.

(11) The superintendent shall consider methods to address the unique needs of special education students when developing the assessments under this section.

(12) The superintendent shall consider methods to address the unique needs of highly capable students when developing the assessments under this section.

(13) The superintendent shall post on the superintendent's web site lists of resources and model assessments in social studies, the arts, and health and fitness.

Sec. 7.  RCW 28A.230.125 and 2014 c 102 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the four-year institutions as defined in RCW 28B.76.020, the state board for community and technical colleges, and the workforce training and education coordinating board, shall develop for use by all public school districts a standardized high school transcript. The superintendent shall establish clear definitions for the terms "credits" and "hours" so that school programs operating on the quarter, semester, or trimester system can be compared.

(2) The standardized high school transcript shall include a notation of whether the student has earned a certificate of individual achievement or a certificate of academic achievement.

(3) The standardized high school transcript may include a notation of whether the student has earned the Washington state seal of biliteracy established under RCW 28A.300.575.

Sec. 8.  RCW 28A.320.195 and 2013 c 184 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Each school district board of directors is encouraged to adopt an academic acceleration policy for high school students as provided under this section.

(2) Under an academic acceleration policy:

(a) The district automatically enrolls any student who meets the state standard on the high school statewide student assessment in the next most rigorous level of advanced courses offered by the high school. Students who successfully complete such an advanced course are then enrolled in the next most rigorous level of advanced course, with the objective that students will eventually be automatically enrolled in courses that offer the opportunity to earn dual credit for high school and college.

(b) The subject matter of the advanced courses in which the student is automatically enrolled depends on the content area or areas of the statewide student assessment where the student has met the state standard. Students who meet the state standard on (i) both end-of-course mathematics assessments or (ii) the eleventh grade smarter balanced assessment are considered to have met the state standard for high school mathematics. Students who meet the state standard in ((both reading and writing)) English language arts are eligible for enrollment in advanced courses in English, social studies, humanities, and other related subjects.

(c) The district must notify students and parents or guardians regarding the academic acceleration policy and the advanced courses available to students.

(d) The district must provide a parent or guardian with an opportunity to opt out of the academic acceleration policy and enroll a student in an alternative course.

Sec. 9.  RCW 28A.700.080 and 2008 c 170 s 301 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall develop and conduct an ongoing campaign for career and technical education to increase awareness among teachers, counselors, students, parents, principals, school administrators, and the general public about the opportunities offered by rigorous career and technical education programs. Messages in the campaign shall emphasize career and technical education as a high quality educational pathway for students, including for students who seek advanced education that includes a bachelor's degree or beyond. In particular, the office shall provide information about the following:

(a) The model career and technical education programs of study developed under RCW 28A.700.060;

(b) Career and technical education course equivalencies and dual credit for high school and college;

(c) ((The career and technical education alternative assessment guidelines under RCW 28A.655.065;

(d))) The availability of scholarships for postsecondary workforce education, including the Washington award for vocational excellence, and apprenticeships through the opportunity grant program under RCW 28B.50.271, grants under RCW 28A.700.090, and other programs; and

(((e))) (d) Education, apprenticeship, and career opportunities in emerging and high-demand programs.

(2) The office shall use multiple strategies in the campaign depending on available funds, including developing an interactive web site to encourage and facilitate career exploration; conducting training and orientation for guidance counselors and teachers; and developing and disseminating printed materials.

(3) The office shall seek advice, participation, and financial assistance from the workforce training and education coordinating board, higher education institutions, foundations, employers, apprenticeship and training councils, workforce development councils, and business and labor organizations for the campaign.

(1) RCW 28A.655.063 (Objective alternative assessments—Reimbursement of costs—Testing fee waivers) and 2007 c 354 s 7 & 2006 c 115 s 5; and

(2) RCW 28A.655.065 (Objective alternative assessment methods—Appeals from assessment scores—Waivers and appeals from assessment requirements—Rules) and 2009 c 556 s 19, 2008 c 170 s 205, 2007 c 354 s 6, & 2006 c 115 s 1.

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