AN ACT Relating to the Washington state high school and beyond program; amending RCW 28A.03.360; and adding new sections to Title 28A RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The Washington state high school and beyond assessment program is hereby established to (1) provide information to guide students toward improved self-understanding, maximize use of their talents, and increase their awareness of the options available to them, all of which are essential to making informed decisions about choices in high school and beyond; and (2) provide information that will assist education policy makers, at all levels, determine the achievement levels of students, evaluate existing programs and services for students, identify appropriate new programs or services, and assess the effects of educational policies over time.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The superintendent of public instruction shall prepare and conduct, with the assistance of school districts, an annual assessment of all students in the eighth grade. The purposes of the assessment are to assist students, parents, and teachers in the planning and selection of appropriate high school courses for students and to provide information about students' current academic proficiencies both in the basic skills of reading, mathematics, and language, and in the reasoning and thinking skills essential for successful entry into those courses required for high school graduation. The assessment shall also include the collection of information about students' interests and plans for high school and beyond and may include the collection of other related student and school information. The superintendent of public instruction shall make the results of the assessment available to all school districts which shall in turn make them available to students, parents, and teachers in a timely fashion and in a manner consistent with the purposes of sections 1 through 6 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The superintendent of public instruction shall prepare and conduct, with the assistance of local school districts, an annual assessment of all students in the eleventh grade. The purposes of the assessment are to provide achievement and guidance information to students, parents, and teachers that will assist in reviewing students' current performance and planning effectively for their initial years beyond high school. The achievement measures shall assess students' strengths and deficiencies in the broad content areas common to the high school curriculum and those thinking and reasoning skills essential for completing high school graduation requirements and for success beyond high school. The assessment shall also collect information about students' career interests and plans and other related student and school information including students' high school course selection patterns, course credits, and grades. The superintendent of public instruction shall make the results of the assessment available to all local school districts which shall in turn make them available to students, parents, and teachers in a timely fashion and in a manner consistent with the purposes of sections 1 through 6 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The superintendent of public instruction shall regularly collect, where feasible and with the assistance of the two-year and four-year colleges and universities and the vocational-technical training institutions, follow-up information about students' experiences in their first years beyond high school. The information collected shall be provided to high schools for use in reviewing their programs and services, and shall also be used, in conjunction with the assessment information collected pursuant to section 3 of this act, to enhance the guidance information provided to subsequent students as they progress from the eighth grade to high school graduation. The student follow-up information shall be collected on a schedule determined by the superintendent of public instruction as appropriate for gathering valid information about students' initial experiences after high school but no less often than once every four years.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The superintendent of public instruction shall coordinate both the procedures and the content of the eighth and eleventh grade assessments to maximize the value of the information provided to students as they progress from eighth grade through high school and to teachers and parents about students' talents, interests, and academic needs or deficiencies so that appropriate programs can be provided to enhance the likelihood of students' success both in terms of high school graduation and beyond high school.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The superintendent of public instruction shall report annually to the legislature on the results of the Washington state high school and beyond assessment program including the achievement levels of students in grades eight and eleven.

Sec. 7. Section 1, chapter 98, Laws of 1975-'76 2nd ex. sess. as last amended by section 1, chapter 403, Laws of 1985 and RCW 28A.03.360 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Every school district is encouraged to test pupils in grade two by an assessment device designed or selected by the ((~~local~~)) school district((s)). This test shall be used to help teachers in identifying those pupils in need of assistance in the skills of reading, writing, mathematics, and language arts. The test results are not to be compiled by the superintendent of public instruction, but are only to be used by the local school district.

(2) The superintendent of public instruction shall prepare and conduct, with the assistance of ((~~local~~)) school districts, a standardized achievement test to be given annually to all pupils in grade four. The test shall assess students' skill in reading, mathematics, and language arts and shall focus upon appropriate input variables. Results of such tests shall be compiled by the superintendent of public instruction, who shall make those results available annually to the legislature, to all local school districts and subsequently to parents of those children tested. The results shall allow parents to ascertain the achievement levels and input variables of their children as compared with the other students within the district, the state and, if applicable, the nation.

(3) ((The superintendent of public instruction shall prepare and conduct, with the assistance of local school districts, an assessment to be administered annually to all grade eight students. The purposes of the assessment are to assist students, parents, and teachers in the planning and selection of appropriate high school programs and courses for the students and to provide comparisons within the district, the state and, if applicable, the nation. The assessment shall include but not be limited to tests in reading, mathematics, and language arts and a student interest inventory. The superintendent of public instruction shall make the results available to all local school districts which shall in turn make them available to students, parents, and teachers in a timely fashion.

(4) The superintendent of public instruction shall prepare and conduct, with the assistance of local school districts, a standardized achievement test to be given annually to all students in grade ten. The purposes of the test are to assist students in meeting district graduation requirements and in making decisions regarding potential career options and the test results shall allow schools and parents to ascertain the achievement levels of their students as compared with other students within the district, the state, and, if applicable, the nation. The results may also be used as an aid in the development of plans to build upon individual students' strengths and to address areas in which individual students' skills are not as strong. The test shall include but not be limited to examinations in reading, mathematics, and language arts and a student academic and career interest inventory and may include the collection of other academic achievement related information. Results of the test shall be compiled by the superintendent of public instruction who shall annually make the results available to all local school districts which shall in turn make the results available to students, parents, and teachers in a timely fashion. In addition to a compilation of school district test results, the test results for each school shall be reported as they relate to selected demographic variables.

(5) The superintendent of public instruction shall test approximately two thousand students distributed throughout the state in the eleventh grade once every two years. Choice of students shall be based on a statistical random sample of students from this grade level sufficient to generalize about all of the students at the grade level from the state's school districts. The purpose of the test is to allow the public, the legislature, and school district personnel to evaluate how Washington students in this grade compare to students in the same grade tested in other comparable national achievement surveys.

~~(6)~~)) The superintendent of public instruction shall report annually to the legislature on the achievement levels of students in grade((s)) four((~~, eight, and ten and shall report biennially to the legislature on the achievement levels of students in grade eleven~~)).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 1 through 6 of this act are each added to Title 28A RCW.