WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Assessment reform approved by House of Representatives

OLYMPIA – A bipartisan bill to reduce the number of high-stakes standardized tests required for high school students was approved by the House of Representatives today by a vote of 87-7.

HB 2214 sponsored by Rep. Chris Reykdal (D-Tumwater), vice-chair of the House Education Committee, enhances local control of schools by cutting the number of required tests by more than half. The bill also places additional emphasis on students completing rigorous courses in their senior year to get them ready for a career or college.

“This bill says to our students, ‘You are more than an assessment,’” said Reykdal in support of the bill. “This approach says, ‘We know how to get you further.’”

“Two-thirds of our students need remediation when they get to college. This bill solves that problem.”

“Politics is the art of compromise, it’s the art of the possible,” said Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-Seattle), chair of the House Education Committee. “We’ve been waiting a long time for this possibility and this compromise.”

“Education is an evolving system,” said Santos. “This is the next step in that evolution. This is the way we help students achieve success not only in school, but as they move to college and career.”

Highlights of HB 2214:

  • Reduces high school standardized tests from 7 to 3.
  • Requires senior-year courses for students who score a 1 or 2 on 11th grade assessments (as opposed to mandatory retakes, exit exams, or “Collection of Evidence”).
  • Saves the state $30 million per biennium in reduced testing and Collection of Evidence costs.
  • Ensures current seniors who haven’t passed end of course biology test can graduate this year.

Additional information: House Bill Report

Reykdal thanked his colleagues Rep. David Taylor (R-Moxee) and Rep. Chad Magendanz (R-Issaquah) on the House floor for their work on the bill.

HB 2214 now goes to the Senate. The first special session is scheduled to adjourn tomorrow.