READ FIRST TIME 02/22/13.   

     AN ACT Relating to statewide indicators of educational health; adding a new section to chapter 28A.150 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature acknowledges that multiple entities, including the state board of education, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the workforce training and education coordinating board, the quality education council, and the student achievement council, are actively working on efforts to identify measurable goals and priorities, road maps, and strategic plans for the entire educational system. It is not the legislature's intent to undermine or curtail the ongoing work of these groups. However, the legislature believes that a coordinated single set of statewide goals would help focus these efforts.
     (2) It is, therefore, the intent of the legislature to establish a discrete set of statewide data points that will serve as snapshots of the overall health of the educational system and as a means for evaluating progress in achieving the outcomes set for the system and the students it serves. By monitoring these statewide indicators over time, it is the intent of the legislature to understand whether reform efforts and investments are making positive progress in the overall education of students and whether adjustments are necessary. Finally, it is the intent of the legislature to align the education reform efforts of each state education agency in order to hold each part of the system – statewide leaders, school personnel, and students – accountable to the same definitions of success.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The following statewide indicators of educational system health are established:
     (a) The percentage of students demonstrating the characteristics of entering kindergartners in all six areas identified by the Washington kindergarten inventory of developing skills administered in accordance with RCW 28A.655.080;
     (b) The percentage of students meeting the standard on the fourth grade statewide reading assessment administered in accordance with RCW 28A.655.070;
     (c) The percentage of students meeting the standard on the eighth grade statewide mathematics assessment administered in accordance with RCW 28A.655.070;
     (d) The four-year cohort high school graduation rate;
     (e) The percentage of high school graduates who during the second quarter after graduation are either enrolled in postsecondary education or training or are employed, and the percentage during the fourth quarter after graduation who are either enrolled in postsecondary education or training or are employed; and
     (f) The percentage of students enrolled in precollege or remedial courses in college.
     (2) The statewide indicators established in subsection (1) of this section shall be disaggregated as provided under RCW 28A.300.042.
     (3) The state board of education, with assistance from the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the workforce training and education coordinating board, the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee, and the student achievement council, shall establish a process for identifying realistic but challenging system-wide performance goals and measurements, if necessary, for each of the indicators established in subsection (1) of this section, including for subcategories of students as provided under subsection (2) of this section. The performance goal for each indicator must be set on a biennial basis, and may only be adjusted upward.
     (4) The state board of education, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, and the student achievement council shall each align their strategic planning and education reform efforts with the statewide indicators and performance goals established under this section.
     (5)(a) The state board of education, with assistance from the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the workforce training and education coordinating board, the educational opportunity gap oversight and accountability committee, and the student achievement council, shall submit a report on the status of each indicator in subsection (1) of this section and recommend revised performance goals and measurements, if necessary, by December 1st of each even-numbered year, except that the initial report establishing baseline values and initial goals shall be delivered to the education committees of the legislature by December 1, 2013.
     (b) If the educational system is not on target to meet the performance goals on any individual indicator, the report must recommend evidence-based reforms intended to improve student achievement in that area.
     (c) To the extent data is available, the performance goals for each indicator must be compared with national data in order to identify whether Washington student achievement results are within the top ten percent nationally or are comparable to results in peer states with similar characteristics as Washington. If comparison data show that Washington students are falling behind national peers on any indicator, the report must recommend evidence-based reforms targeted at addressing the indicator in question.