Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

College & Workforce Development Committee

ESSB 5410

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 Engrossed Substitute Bill

Requires public higher education institutions to establish a policy for granting as many credits as possible to students who earned minimum scores of four on International Baccalaureate exams and scores of E on Cambridge Assessment International Education exams.
Directs the higher education institutions to develop a process to retroactively award credit for IB exams to students who first enrolled in the institution in the 2018-19 academic year.
Requires the credit policies to be posted on campus websites and reviewed on a biennial basis.

Background:

Students who demonstrate competency in a subject by scoring well on an exam may earn college credit or have the option to opt-out of an introductory college course. National examinations based-options include Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE).

International Baccalaureate.

The IB Diploma Programme is a two-year university preparation program for students age 16 through age 19. Students in IB participate in a compulsory core that includes: a Theory of Knowledge class; an extended essay; and a creativity, activity service. IB students take classes in six subjects: language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, math, and the arts. The IB courses are offered at either standard level (SL) or higher level (HL). The HL courses are comprised of 240 teaching hours whereas SL courses are 150 teaching hours. Students are required to take at least three courses at higher level, but no more than four. Students must pass an exam at the end of each course. The scoring for these exams is a range of one to seven points. Students earn an IB diploma if they meet the minimum requirements of the program, including completing the core program and earning at least 24 points across the six subject exams with a minimum score of three in at least four subjects. However, not all students seek to earn an IB diploma. Many students take individual IB classes.

Cambridge Assessment International Education.

The CAIE programs are for students age 16 through age 19. Programs are offered in 55 different subjects in either AS or A level. The CAIE AS is typically a one-year program, while CAIE A level is two years. The exams at the end of a course are graded on a scale of A* through E.

Advanced Placement Credit Policy.

During the 2017 legislative session, Engrossed Senate Bill 5234 was enacted and required the institutions of higher education to establish a coordinated, evidence-based policy for granting undergraduate college credits to students who earn minimum scores of three on AP exams. The institutions are required to post the policy on campus websites, conduct reviews of the policy, and report noncompliance in annual reports to the Legislature beginning November 1, 2019.

Engrossed Senate Bill 5917 passed during the 2018 legislative session, which required the institutions of higher education to establish coordinated evidenced-based policies for granting as many undergraduate college credits as possible and appropriate for general education requirements to students who successfully completed IB or CAIE exams. Examples of credit policies institutions could consider were included, such as whether a four on a SL or HL IB exam or a grade of E on a CAIE exam may earn college credit.

Summary of Bill:

The public institutions of higher education must establish a coordinated, evidence-based policy for granting as many undergraduate college credits as possible and appropriate to students who have earned minimum scores of four on SL and HL IB examinations and scores of E or higher on CAIE exams. In addition, the institutions must establish a process for retroactively awarding undergraduate college credit for scores of four or more on SL and HL IB examinations for students who first enrolled in the 2018-19 academic year.

The credit policies for IB must be posted on campus websites effective for the 2019 fall academic term, whereas the credit policies for CAIE exams must be posted for the 2020 fall academic term. The credit policies must be publicly accessible.

If an institution is unable to award general education course equivalency, the student may request in writing an evidence-based reason as to why general education course equivalency cannot be granted. General education course equivalency means credit that fulfills general education or major requirements and is not elective credit.

The institutions must conduct biennial reviews of the AP, IB, and CAIE policies and report noncompliance to the Legislature by November 1 each biennium, beginning November 1, 2019. The biennial reviews must include demographic data on students who received credit or were denied credit by exam type and subject area.

The institutions must provide an update on their credit policies to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee by December 31, 2019.