House passes test reform, change in grad requirements

OLYMPIA — The state House of Representatives on Wednesday advanced a dramatic change in Washington high school graduation requirements.

House Bill 2214, which would need to pass the Senate on Thursday or die when a special session ends, would temporarily eliminate the need to pass a science test for graduation.

This year’s high school seniors would be included in that provision. Lawmakers estimated that 2,029 students would not get a diploma this spring if the bill doesn’t pass.

But the bill would also simplify the state testing system, getting rid of complicated alternatives to passing high school exams. Instead, students who do not pass the statewide tests in high school would be required to take more classes in those subject areas to earn a diploma.

Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, serves on the House Education Committee and is a counselor in the Everett School District. She voted for the bill.

Ortiz-Self said the path to graduation has become so complicated that a spreadsheet is needed to explain to students all the options.

“It is overwhelming,” Ortiz-Self said. “When it gets that complex, it is too complex.”

Sponsor Rep. Chris Reykdal, D-Tumwater, says his hope is that the change will actually help kids gain more skills in math and English and avoid remedial classes in college.

He estimated the change would help tens of thousands of students who face new, challenging tests that judge how much of the so-called national Common Core standards they have learned in English-language arts and math.

Reykdal says there have been so many alternatives to testing that calling the tests a graduation requirement was almost meaningless.

“Legislators and our communities are hungry for test simplification,” he said.

Other lawmakers echoed that sentiment, adding students and parents and teachers to the list.

Rep. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla, said she recently had a meeting with teachers and principals and one woman broke down in tears, speaking of her 10th-grader who was under stress to pass all her tests.

“When we have folks crying over education, we need to make some changes,” Walsh said.