SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 6132

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 Bill

Eliminates the requirement for the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to select reading passages to measure second grade student's oral reading.
Maintains the requirement for school districts to annually assess second grade students' oral reading, and if a student is reading substantially below grade level assess the students' oral reading at least once more during the second grade.
Adds comprehension to the skills that must be measured by the second grade oral reading assessment.
Requires substantially below grade level to be determined by the test publisher's guidelines, instead of OSPI.

Background: In 1997, the Legislature directed the OSPI to select a collection of reading passages to measure second grade students' oral reading, including fluency, accuracy, recognition of letter sounds, phonemic awareness, and word recognition.

Since the 1998-99 school year, each school district had to choose a reading passage from the OSPI collection to annually assess second grade students' oral reading. If a student's performance during the reading assessment is deemed to be substantially below grade level, as determined by the OSPI for each reading passage, then the assessment may be discontinued. If a student's score is substantially below grade level then the student must be assessed at least once more during the second grade.

Each school must inform the parents of second grade students about the reading assessment results at the fall parent-teacher conference. Additionally, schools must inform parents of actions the school intends to take to improve the student's reading skills, and provide parents with strategies to help the parents improve their child’s score.

To the extent funds are appropriated, the OSPI must pay for the cost of administering and scoring the assessments, booklets or other assessment materials, and training required to administer the test.

Summary of Bill: The requirement for OSPI to select a collection of reading passages for school districts to use to assess second grade students' oral reading is eliminated.

School districts must still administer a second grade oral reading test. In addition to the skills that have been previously measured on the test, the test must also measure a student's comprehension. The option to discontinue the assessment if a student performance during the test is deemed to be substantially below grade level is removed from the statute. School districts must still assess a student that is determined to be substantially below grade level at least once more during second grade. Substantially below grade level is determined by the test publisher's guidelines, instead of OSPI.

To the extent funds are appropriated, OSPI must provide school districts with funds to purchase the assessment materials and provide professional learning for educators about the district's newly adopted second grade reading assessment system.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: Instead of OSPI providing the paragraphs for the second grade reading assessment, the school district will now have the autonomy to select the paragraphs used and administer them according to the publisher's criteria. We know that it is really important for children to read and comprehend what they read by the third grade because it is one of the signs that indicates success in schools.

OTHER: We also believe that it is important for all children to be proficient in reading by third grade. We agree that adding comprehension as part of the assessment will strengthen the bill. We have recommendations to further strengthen this bill. Research indicates that students struggling with reading should be assessed every nine weeks. Parents should be notified of a student's progress after each assessment. OSPI should provide a list of high quality assessments aligned with state standards for districts to use.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Senator Lisa Wellman, Prime Sponsor; Aira Jackson, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

OTHER: Virginia Barry, Policy and Government Affairs Manager, Stand for Children.