Legislative Reports Released
Find an updated listing of all OSPI reports here: http://www.k12.wa.us/LegisGov/Reports.aspx
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The following legislative reports are now available on the OSPI website. If you have any questions or comments about legislative reports in general, please contact Nathan Olson, OSPI communications director, at 360–725–6015 or nathan.olson@k12.wa.us. If you have questions about this report, please contact the report’s author. That information can be found on the report’s cover page.
UPDATE: Educational Technology Assessments (PDF)
Educational technology assessments are voluntarily administered in the elementary, middle and high school grades. Teachers use the assessments to determine if students meet Washington’s standards for educational technology. In 2015–16, 41 percent of school districts reported using an OSPI-developed assessment for educational technology.
UPDATE: Safety Net Survey (PDF)
In 2016–17, 107 local education agencies applied for a total of $49.6 million in Safety Net funding. The Legislature requires OSPI to annually survey school districts about improving the special education Safety Net process. This report summarizes the annual survey.
Gang Activities in Schools (PDF)
Since 2007, a task force has examined how gangs affect school safety and outlines methods for preventing new gangs, eliminating existing gangs, gathering intelligence and sharing information about gang activities. Because of a variety of factors, the task force hasn’t met since 2013. Its recommendations are carried forward from then.
UPDATE: Dropout Prevention, Intervention and Reengagement (PDF)
Although graduation rates continue to climb, gaps between groups of students remain. The Building Bridges program, established in 2007, provides academic and non-academic supports to those students most in need so that they stay in school or reconnect with school. Through Building Bridges, a multi-agency workgroup — Graduation: A Team Effort (GATE) initiative — has emerged. This report focuses on GATE’s work in 2017.
The State of Native Education (PDF)
This report addresses the accomplishments and recommendations of the Office of Native Education, including the refined Since Time Immemorial Tribal Sovereignty Curriculum, expanded professional development, and State-Tribal Education Compacts.
School Transportation Efficiency (PDF)
An efficiency evaluation system of school district transportation operations was adopted as part of the new student transportation funding system implemented in 2011. The rating process was intended to encourage school districts to operate in as efficient manner as possible. In 2017, 221 of the state’s 295 districts achieved an efficiency rating of greater than 90 percent.
Educational Interpreters — Performance Standards (PDF)
Educational interpreters communicate with students who are deaf or having hearing difficulties. Since 2014, standards for the interpreters have existed, as well as assessments that measure the interpreters’ mastery of American Sign Language. In 2017, the Legislature asked OSPI to estimate the costs reviewing the assessments. The estimate was about $37,000.
Career and Technical Educational Equivlency (PDF)
“Course equivalencies” are classes that meet both career and technical education requirements as well as math, science, or English language arts requirements. In 2016–17, the first year for which data were collected, about 1,700 high school and 130 skill center course equivalencies were offered, and about 31,000 students took the courses.
Education Provisos 2017 (PDF)
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is required annually to report on the status of all education budget provisos. In 2017, there were 79 such provisos.
UPDATE: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Program Update (PDF)
In 2010 the Legislature created new evaluation criteria for both teachers and principals. The scores from the evaluations fall into one of four categories: Level 1 is “unsatisfactory,” Level 2 is “basic,” Level 3 is “proficient” and Level 4 is “distinguished.” In 2015–16, 96 percent of teachers were given scores of proficient or distinguished.
Washington Integrated Student Supports Workgroup Final Report (PDF)
The reasons some students struggle are varied and complex. Overcoming them involves a community-wide approach. At the behest of the state Legislature, in 2016 OSPI’s Center for the Improvement of Student Learning developed the Washington Integrated Student Supports Protocol to help schools create a student-specific framework of supports. The Legislature also established the Integrated Student Supports (ISS) Workgroup, which would make recommendations on implementing the protocol in school districts. This report describes the workgroup’s recommendations.
Graduation and Dropout Statistics Annual Report (PDF)
Graduation and dropout rates are important indicators of the status of K-12 education in Washington. The 4-year graduation rate is 79.1 percent for students who entered 9th grade for the first time in 2012–2013.
UPDATE: Financial Education Public-Private Partnership (PDF)
The Financial Education Public-Private Partnership promotes personal financial education. This report highlights the work of the FEPPP, including the adoption in September 2016 of state financial education learning standards.
UPDATE: Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program (TBIP) (PDF)
During the 2015–16 school year, about 130,000 students — who collectively speak 220 languages — were classified as English language learners. Nearly all were enrolled in the Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program. This report provides data on the student achievement of those students.
UPDATE: Online Learning (PDF)
In the 2015–16 school year, nearly 32,000 Washington students enrolled in about 78,000 K-12 online courses. The number of students increased by 2.3 percent from 2014–15; the number of courses by 3.4 percent.
Homeless Students Data (PDF)
The federal McKinney-Vento Act requires all school districts to report annually the number of homeless students enrolled in schools. In Washington, that number has increased every year since McKinney-Vento was reauthorized in 2001. During the 2015–16 school year, 39,671 students were identified as homeless, which amounted to 3.7 percent of students statewide.
UPDATE: Innovation in Supplemental Contracts (PDF)
Districts are required to separate and report salary expenses related to implementing specific activities, such as closing opportunity gaps; focusing on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classes; or providing arts education. Each year, OSPI reports on those expenses. In 2015–16, the total was $62,641, all reported by the Mount Adams School District.
Academic, Innovation, and Mentoring Grant Program (PDF)
The 2015–17 state operating budget appropriated $125,000 to fund the Academic, Innovation, and Mentoring (AIM) grant program. AIM funds youth development programs that deliver educational services and mentoring activities for youth ages 6 to 18 during times when school is not in session. In 2015, The Washington State Boys & Girls Clubs Association was approved for the AIM grant in five locations: East Bellevue, Mt. Vernon, Spokane, Tacoma, and Vancouver.
Assessment Inventory (PDF)
In 2016, the state Legislature asked OSPI to find out how much time Washington students spent taking state and district-required tests. OSPI collected data from 78 percent of districts via an online survey. The median testing time in 2015–16 for state tests ranged from seven hours and twenty minutes in 3rd grade to nine hours and thirty minutes in 8th grade.
More information: http://www.k12.wa.us/legisgov/
