BILL REQ. #:  H-1634.1 

Read first time 02/05/2007.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to high school mathematics and science standards, curriculum, and assessments; amending RCW 28A.655.061 and 28A.655.070; adding a new section to chapter 28A.655 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.305 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that Washington schools and students are making significant progress in improving achievement in reading and writing. Schools are adapting instruction and providing remediation for students who need additional assistance. Reading and writing are being taught across the curriculum. There is general consensus among educators about the level of reading and writing skills all students need to demonstrate to be successful after high school. Reading and writing are broad, cumulative skills that can be appropriately assessed in a comprehensive fashion. Therefore, the legislature does not intend to make changes to the Washington assessment of student learning or high school graduation requirements in reading and writing.
     (2) The legislature further finds, however, that less progress is being made in improving student achievement in mathematics and science. Schools are struggling to identify appropriate curriculum and remediation strategies. There is not a consensus among educators, parents, and the community about the minimum level of mathematics and science knowledge and skills that all students need to be successful after high school, and the essential academic learning requirements and Washington assessment of student learning do not provide guidance in creating such a consensus. The core content of mathematics and science may be more appropriately taught, and therefore assessed, according to major disciplines rather than in a broad and comprehensive fashion. Therefore, the legislature intends to make adjustments to the mathematics and science standards and state assessments, particularly for high school. These adjustments also necessitate changes to the high school graduation requirements in mathematics and science.
     (3) Finally, the legislature intends to define a minimum level of knowledge and skills in mathematics and science that will be assessed on a statewide basis for purposes of individual, state, and federal accountability. However, students will need additional mathematics and science beyond this minimum level to graduate from high school and to be successful in college and in the workforce. The state through the state board of education's recommendations on a meaningful high school diploma, and local school districts through their graduation requirements, should set high expectations for student achievement in mathematics and science.

Sec. 2   RCW 28A.655.061 and 2006 c 115 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The high school assessment system shall include but need not be limited to the Washington assessment of student learning, 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 Washington assessment of student learning for each content area.
     (2) Subject to the conditions in this section, a certificate of academic achievement shall be obtained by most students at about the age of sixteen, 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, 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, with the exception of students satisfying the provisions of RCW 28A.155.045, a student who meets the state standards on the reading((,)) and writing((, and mathematics)) content areas of the high school Washington assessment of student learning shall earn a certificate of academic achievement.
     (b) Beginning with the graduating class of 2011, in addition to the content areas required under (a) of this subsection, a student must meet the state standards on at least two of the end-of-course high school Washington assessments of student learning in mathematics, one of which shall be the algebra I assessment, to earn a certificate of academic achievement.
     (c) Beginning with the graduating class of 2012, in addition to the content areas required under (a) and (b) of this subsection, a student must meet the state standards on at least two of the end-of-course high school Washington assessments of student learning in science, one of which shall be the biology assessment, to earn a certificate of academic achievement.
     (4) If a student does not successfully meet the state standards in one or more content areas required for the certificate of academic achievement, then the student may retake the assessment in the content area up to four times at no cost to the student. If the student successfully meets the state standards 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 retaken the Washington assessment of student learning 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 2010, 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 Washington assessment of student learning or the objective alternative assessments in order to 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.
     (7) ((Beginning in 2006,)) School districts must make available to students the following options:
     (a) To retake the Washington assessment of student learning up to four times in the content areas in which the student did not meet the state standards if the student is enrolled in a public school; or
     (b) To retake the Washington assessment of student learning up to four times in the content areas in which the student did not meet the state standards 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 but who wish to improve their results shall pay for retaking the assessment, using a uniform cost determined by the superintendent of public instruction.
     (9) ((Subject to available funding, the superintendent shall pilot opportunities for retaking the high school assessment beginning in the 2004-05 school year. Beginning no later than September 2006,)) Opportunities to retake the assessment at least twice a year shall be available to each school district.
     (10)(a) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall develop options for implementing objective alternative assessments, which may include an appeals process, for students to demonstrate achievement of the state academic standards. The objective alternative assessments shall be comparable in rigor to the skills and knowledge that the student must demonstrate on the Washington assessment of student learning and be objective in its determination of student achievement of the state standards. Before any objective alternative assessments in addition to those authorized in RCW 28A.655.065 or (b) of this subsection are used by a student to demonstrate that the student has met the state standards in a content area required to obtain a certificate, the legislature shall formally approve the use of any objective alternative assessments through the omnibus appropriations act or by statute or concurrent resolution.
     (b) A student's score on the mathematics portion of the preliminary scholastic assessment test (PSAT), the scholastic assessment test (SAT), or the American college test (ACT) may be used as an objective alternative assessment under this section for demonstrating that a student has met or exceeded the mathematics standards for the certificate of academic achievement. The state board of education shall identify the scores students must achieve on the mathematics portion of the PSAT, SAT, or ACT to meet or exceed the state standard for mathematics. The state board of education shall identify the first scores by December 1, 2006, and thereafter may increase but not decrease the scores required for students to meet or exceed the state standard for mathematics.
     (11) By December 15, 2004, the house of representatives and senate education committees shall obtain information and conclusions from recognized, independent, national assessment experts regarding the validity and reliability of the high school Washington assessment of student learning for making individual student high school graduation determinations.
     (12) To help assure continued progress in academic achievement as a foundation for high school graduation and to assure that students are on track for high school graduation, each school district shall prepare plans for students as provided in this subsection (12).
     (a) Student learning plans are required for eighth through twelfth grade students who were not successful on any or all of the content areas of the Washington assessment for student learning during the previous school year. The plan shall include the courses, competencies, and other steps needed to be taken by the student to meet state academic standards and stay on track for graduation. ((This requirement shall be phased in as follows:
     (i) Beginning no later than the 2004-05 school year ninth grade students as described in this subsection (12)(a) shall have a plan.
     (ii) Beginning no later than the 2005-06 school year and every year thereafter eighth grade students as described in this subsection (12)(a) shall have a plan.
     (iii))) (i) The parent or guardian shall be notified, preferably through a parent conference, of the student's results on the Washington assessment of student learning, actions the school intends to take to improve the student's skills in any content area in which the student was unsuccessful, strategies to help them improve their student's skills, and the content of the student's plan.
     (((iv))) (ii) Progress made on the student plan shall be reported to the student's parents or guardian at least annually and adjustments to the plan made as necessary.
     (b) ((Beginning with the 2005-06 school year and every year thereafter,)) All fifth grade students who were not successful in one or more of the content areas of the fourth grade Washington assessment of student learning shall have a student learning plan.
     (i) The parent or guardian of ((a)) the student ((described in this subsection (12)(b))) shall be notified, preferably through a parent conference, of the student's results on the Washington assessment of student learning, actions the school intends to take to improve the student's skills in any content area in which the student was unsuccessful, and provide strategies to help them improve their student's skills.
     (ii) Progress made on the student plan shall be reported to the student's parents or guardian at least annually and adjustments to the plan made as necessary.

Sec. 3   RCW 28A.655.070 and 2005 c 497 s 106 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except for the content areas of mathematics and science at the high school level, 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. Standards and assessments for the content areas of mathematics and science at the high school level shall be selected by the state board of education as provided in section 4 of this act.
     (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. By September 1, 2009, the superintendent shall make any necessary revisions to the essential academic learning requirements and grade level expectations in elementary and middle school mathematics to ensure that mathematics standards, expectations, and assessments are sequential and aligned with the high school mathematics standards selected under section 4 of this act. By September 1, 2010, the superintendent shall make any such necessary revisions to the essential academic learning requirements and grade level expectations in elementary and middle school science. 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 Washington assessment of student learning 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 Washington assessment of student learning.
     (3) 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 ((shall)) may include a variety of assessment methods, including criterion-referenced and performance-based measures.
     (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)(((a))) 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.
     (((b) Assessments measuring the essential academic learning requirements in the content area of science shall be available for mandatory use in middle schools and high schools by the 2003-04 school year and for mandatory use in elementary schools by the 2004-05 school year unless the legislature takes action to delay or prevent implementation of the assessment.))
     (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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 28A.655 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) By December 1, 2007, the state board of education shall select a set of high school mathematics standards to be the essential academic learning requirements in high school mathematics. By December 1, 2008, the state board of education shall select a set of high school science standards to be the essential academic learning requirements in high school science. The selected standards shall align with the content of end-of-course assessments required under subsection (2) of this section. The selected standards shall provide sufficient detail about the knowledge and skills expected of students in each content area to enable school districts to design and offer courses of instruction containing the content to be assessed by the end-of-course assessments.
     (2) The state board of education, in consultation with the superintendent of public instruction, shall select a set of end-of-course assessments for high school mathematics and high school science that are aligned with the standards selected under subsection (1) of this section. To facilitate ease of scoring and timely return of results, the assessments shall rely on multiple choice questions. School districts shall administer the assessments according to a uniform assessment schedule and guidelines adopted by the superintendent to ensure appropriate confidentiality of assessment questions.
     (a) The legislature's intent is that students receive instruction through credited high school courses in the content areas to be assessed and have their knowledge and skills assessed after they complete the courses. However, school districts shall be responsible for designing and implementing the courses, including determining at which grade levels and in what format the courses shall be offered in the district. School districts may provide instruction in the content areas through integrated courses.
     (b) The end-of-course assessments in high school mathematics shall cover algebra I, geometry, and algebra II. The superintendent shall make the mathematics assessments available and school districts shall implement them as the high school Washington assessments of student learning in mathematics beginning with the 2008-09 school year.
     (c) The end-of-course assessments in high school science shall cover biology, earth science, and chemistry. The superintendent shall make the science assessments available and school districts shall implement them as the high school Washington assessments of student learning in science beginning with the 2009-10 school year.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 28A.305 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The state board of education shall:
     (a) By September 1, 2009, identify no more than three recommended mathematics curricula for elementary, middle, and high school that align with the essential academic learning requirements in mathematics, revised as directed by RCW 28A.655.070 and section 4 of this act; and
     (b) By September 1, 2010, identify no more than three recommended science curricula for elementary, middle, and high school that align with the essential academic learning requirements in science, revised as directed by RCW 28A.655.070 and section 4 of this act.
     (2) To the extent possible, the state board of education shall select curricula with research findings that demonstrate a positive association with improved student achievement in mathematics and science.
     (3) For the purposes of this section, "curricula" includes textbooks, online materials, diagnostic and classroom-based assessments, professional development guides, or other associated instructional materials.
     (4) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, school districts that adopt one or more of the recommended curricula after the curricula have been identified by the state board of education shall receive a financial incentive to offset the cost of purchasing the curricula.