Washington professional educator standards board-approved teacher preparation programs may recommend candidates for residency teacher certification who have not completed a teaching performance assessment. A professional educator standards board-approved teacher preparation program must recommend for residency teacher certification any candidate who has not completed a teaching performance assessment in current or previous years if the candidate has met all other requirements for program completion.
This section expires September 1, 2022.
This section modifies existing section 28A.410.220. Here is the modified chapter for context.
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The Washington professional educator standards board shall make available a means of assessing an applicant's knowledge in the basic skills. For the purposes of this section, "basic skills" means the subjects of at least reading, writing, and mathematics. An applicant must take this basic skills assessment, or an alternative or equivalent basic skills assessment as determined by the Washington professional educator standards board, and report the individual results to the Washington professional educator standards board and an approved teacher preparation program, for admission to the approved teacher preparation program.
An approved teacher preparation program may use the results of the basic skills assessment, or an alternative or equivalent basic skills assessment as determined by the Washington professional educator standards board, as a formative assessment of academic strengths and weakness in determining the candidate's readiness for the program.
The Washington professional educator standards board may establish criteria to ensure that persons from out-of-state who are applying for residency certification and persons applying to master's degree level teacher preparation programs can demonstrate to the board's satisfaction that they have the requisite basic skills.
The Washington professional educator standards board may identify and accept other tests and test scores as long as the tests are comparable in rigor to the basic skills assessment and candidates meet or exceed the basic skills requirements established by the board.
Applicants for certification may not be required to perform a professional‑level certification assessment in order to receive a residency certificate under this section. Beginning not later than September 1, 2002, the Washington professional educator standards board shall provide for the initial piloting and implementation of a means of assessing an applicant's knowledge in the subjects for which the applicant has applied for an endorsement to his or her residency or professional teaching certificate. The assessment of subject knowledge shall not include instructional methodology. Beginning September 1, 2005, passing this assessment shall be required to receive an endorsement for certification purposes.
The Washington professional educator standards board may permit exceptions from the assessment requirements under subsections (1)and (2) of this section on a case-by-case basis.
The Washington professional educator standards board shall provide for reasonable accommodations for individuals who are required to take the assessments in subsections (1)and (2) of this section if the individuals have learning or other disabilities.
With the exception of applicants exempt from the requirements of subsection (2) of this section, an applicant must achieve a minimum assessment score or scores established by the Washington professional educator standards board on each of the assessments under subsection (2) of this section.
The Washington professional educator standards board and superintendent of public instruction, as determined by the Washington professional educator standards board, may contract with one or more third parties for:
The development, purchase, administration, scoring, and reporting of scores of the assessments established by the Washington professional educator standards board under subsections (1)and (2) of this section;
Related clerical and administrative activities; or
Any combination of the purposes in this subsection.
Applicants for admission to a Washington teacher preparation program and applicants for residency and professional certificates who are required to successfully complete one or more of the assessments under subsections (1)and (2) of this section, and who are charged a fee for the assessment by a third party contracted with under subsection (6) of this section, shall pay the fee charged by the contractor directly to the contractor. Such fees shall be reasonably related to the actual costs of the contractor in providing the assessment.
The superintendent of public instruction is responsible for supervision and providing support services to administer this section.
The Washington professional educator standards board shall collaboratively select or develop and implement the applicable assessments and minimum assessment scores required under this section with the superintendent of public instruction and shall provide opportunities for representatives of other interested educational organizations to participate in the selection or development and implementation of such assessments in a manner deemed appropriate by the Washington professional educator standards board.
The Washington professional educator standards board shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW that are reasonably necessary for the effective and efficient implementation of this section.
This section modifies existing section 28A.410.2211. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The professional educator standards board shall revise assessments for prospective teachers and teachers adding subject area endorsements required for teacher certification under RCW 28A.410.220 to measure the revised standards in RCW 28A.410.221.
The professional educator standards board shall require that successful candidates for the residency certificate demonstrate effective subject specific instructional methods that address the revised standards.
This section modifies existing section 28A.410.270. Here is the modified chapter for context.
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The Washington professional educator standards board shall adopt a set of articulated teacher knowledge, skill, and performance standards for effective teaching that are evidence-based, measurable, meaningful, and documented in high quality research as being associated with improved student learning. The standards shall be calibrated for each level along the entire career continuum.
In developing the standards, the board shall, to the extent possible, incorporate standards for cultural competency along the entire continuum. For the purposes of this subsection, "cultural competency" includes knowledge of student cultural histories and contexts, as well as family norms and values in different cultures; knowledge and skills in accessing community resources and community and parent outreach; and skills in adapting instruction to students' experiences and identifying cultural contexts for individual students.
By January 1, 2020, in order to ensure that teachers can recognize signs of emotional or behavioral distress in students and appropriately refer students for assistance and support, the Washington professional educator standards board shall incorporate along the entire continuum the social-emotional learning standards and benchmarks recommended by the social-emotional learning benchmarks work group in its October 1, 2016, final report titled, "addressing social emotional learning in Washington's K-12 public schools." In incorporating the social-emotional learning standards and benchmarks, the Washington professional educator standards board must include related competencies, such as trauma-informed practices, consideration of adverse childhood experiences, mental health literacy, antibullying strategies, and culturally sustaining practices.
By January 1, 2022, the Washington professional educator standards board shall develop and implement a statewide rubric to measure cultural competency standards required under (b) of this subsection.
The Washington professional educator standards board shall adopt a definition of master teacher, with a comparable level of increased competency between professional certification level and master level as between professional certification level and national board certification. Within the definition established by the Washington professional educator standards board, teachers certified through the national board for professional teaching standards shall be considered master teachers.
The Washington professional educator standards board shall maintain a uniform, statewide, valid, and reliable classroom-based means of evaluating teacher effectiveness as a culminating measure at the preservice level that is to be used during the student-teaching field experience. This assessment shall include multiple measures of teacher performance in classrooms, evidence of positive impact on student learning, and shall include review of artifacts, such as use of a variety of assessment and instructional strategies, and student work.
Award of a professional certificate shall be based on a minimum of two years of successful teaching experience as defined by the board, and may not require candidates to enroll in a professional certification program.
Educator preparation programs approved to offer the residency teaching certificate shall be required to demonstrate how the program produces effective teachers as evidenced by the measures established under this section and other criteria established by the Washington professional educator standards board.