House bill would reduce high school testing

OLYMPIA — The Washington State House of Representatives passed a bill this week to reduce the required number of standardized tests for high school students. The bill passed out of the House with bipartisan support, with a vote of 87-10, and one excused.

Rep. Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg, supports the bill.

“High school students take too many tests right now,” he said. Manweller said he believes students should be assessed through a series of smaller tests, instead of the large standardized tests currently used.

The bill, HB 2214, eliminates the requirement that students pass the biology end-of-course (EOC) in order to graduate. HB 2214 also discontinues the 10th-grade reading, writing, and mathematics assessments.

Also under the bill, students who earn a score of 3 or 5 on the 11th-grade Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) in English and math, will earn a certificate of academic achievement (CAA). However, some students who do not earn a 3 or 4 on the SBAC may still earn a CAA by scoring an equivalent score on the SAT, ACT, or a locally determined course in the same subject. This can include a Running Start course, in which a high school student may take a college course for both high school and college credit.

According to the fiscal note, the total savings from this bill would be around $43.7 million.

“By passing this we are not only rejecting the one-size-fits all test system, and empowering our children through multiple pathways,” said Rep. Chris Reykdal, D-Tumwater, the primary sponsor of the bill. “We are saving resources that go to the fundamental question that we just debated for the last hour, fully funding basic education.”

The Senate bill had its first reading and was referred to the K-12 Education committee on Tuesday.