BILL REQ. #: H-4533.6
| State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2006 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/03/06.
AN ACT Relating to authorizing alternative methods of assessment and appeal processes for the certificate of academic achievement; adding a new section to chapter 28A.655 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28C.04 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 28A.655
RCW to read as follows:
(1) The legislature has made a commitment to rigorous academic
standards for receipt of a high school diploma. The primary way that
students will demonstrate that they meet the standards in reading,
writing, mathematics, and science is through the Washington assessment
of student learning. Only objective assessments that are comparable in
rigor to the state assessment are authorized as an alternative
assessment. Before seeking an alternative assessment, the legislature
expects students to make a genuine effort to meet state standards,
through retaking the Washington assessment of student learning; regular
and consistent attendance at school; and participation in extended
learning and other assistance programs.
(3) For the purposes of this section, "applicant" means a student
seeking to use one of the alternative assessment methods in this
section.
(4) The primary alternative assessment method shall be a
combination of the applicant's grades in applicable courses and the
applicant's highest score on the high school Washington assessment of
student learning, as provided in this subsection.
(a) Using guidelines prepared by the superintendent of public
instruction, a school district shall identify the group of students in
the same school as the applicant who took the same high school courses
as the applicant in the applicable content area. From the group of
students identified in this manner, the district shall select the
comparison cohort that shall be those students who met or slightly
exceeded the state standard on the Washington assessment of student
learning.
(b) The district shall compare the applicant's grades in high
school courses in the applicable content area to the grades of students
in the comparison cohort for the same high school courses. If the
applicant's grades are above the median grades of the comparison
cohort, the applicant shall be deemed to have met the state standard on
the alternative assessment.
(c) An applicant may not use the alternative assessment under this
subsection (4) if there are fewer than six students in the comparison
cohort.
(5) The superintendent of public instruction shall also develop an
alternative assessment method that shall be an evaluation of a
collection of work samples prepared and submitted by the applicant, as
provided in this subsection and, for career and technical applicants,
subsection (6) of this section. The collection of work samples may be
implemented as an alternative assessment if there are fewer than six
students in the applicant's comparison cohort under subsection (4) of
this section or if the applicant is enrolled in a career and technical
program approved under section 2 of this act. The collection of work
samples may be implemented as an alternative assessment for other
applicants only if formally approved by the legislature through the
omnibus appropriations act, statute, or concurrent resolution.
(a) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop
guidelines for the types and number of work samples in each content
area that may be submitted as a collection of evidence that the
applicant has met the state standard in that content area. Work
samples may be collected from academic, career and technical, or
remedial courses and may include performance tasks as well as written
products.
(b) The superintendent shall develop protocols for submission of
the collection of work samples that include affidavits from the
applicant's teachers and school district that the samples are the work
of the applicant and a requirement that a portion of the samples be
prepared under the direct supervision of a classroom teacher.
(c) The superintendent shall develop uniform scoring criteria for
evaluating the collection of work samples. Collections shall be scored
at the state level or regionally by a panel of educators selected and
trained by the superintendent to ensure objectivity, reliability, and
rigor in the evaluation. An educator may not score work samples
submitted by applicants from the educator's school district. If the
panel awards an applicant's collection of work samples the minimum
required score, the applicant shall be deemed to have met the state
standard on the alternative assessment.
(6)(a) For students enrolled in a career and technical education
program approved under section 2 of this act, the superintendent of
public instruction shall develop a collection of work samples that:
(i) Is relevant to the student's particular career and technical
program;
(ii) Focuses on the application of academic knowledge and skills
within the program;
(iii) Includes completed activities or projects where demonstration
of academic knowledge is inferred; and
(iv) Is 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 also
represents the knowledge and skills that successful individuals in the
career and technical field of the approved program are expected to
possess.
(b) To meet the state standard on the alternative assessment under
this subsection (6), an applicant must also attain the state or
nationally recognized certificate or credential associated with the
approved career and technical program.
(c) 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.
(7) The superintendent of public instruction shall implement:
(a) By June 1, 2006, a process for students to appeal the score
they received on the high school assessment; and
(b) By January 1, 2007, guidelines and appeal processes for waiving
specific requirements in RCW 28A.655.061 pertaining to the certificate
of academic achievement and to the certificate of individual
achievement for students who: (i) Transfer to a Washington public
school in their junior or senior year with the intent of obtaining a
public high school diploma, or (ii) have special, unavoidable
circumstances.
(8) The superintendent of public instruction may adopt rules to
implement this section.
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 for career and technical students
developed under section 1 of this act. Programs on the list must meet
the following minimum criteria:
(1) Lead to a certificate or credential that is state or nationally
recognized by trades, industries, or other professional associations as
necessary for employment or advancement in that field;
(2) Require a sequenced progression of multiple courses, both
exploratory and preparatory, that are vocationally intensive and
rigorous; 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 By September 2006, the superintendent of
public instruction shall report the following, in detail, to the
education committees of the legislature:
(1) Results of the pilot testing of the alternative assessments
authorized under section 1 of this act;
(2) The proposed guidelines, protocols, and procedures to be used
by the superintendent in implementing the alternative assessments,
particularly the collection of evidence;
(3) A description of the training to be provided for school
districts, educators serving on scoring panels, and teachers assisting
students with collections of evidence; and
(4) Updated estimates of the number of students likely to be
eligible or apply for either alternative assessment method.