Earlier this month, the State Board of Education approved a list of recommendations that form a framework of a new testing and accountability system for North Carolina’s pre-K -12 schools.
These recommendations include immediate, short- term and long- term changes.
In most cases, each recommendation will require an implementation plan to move from current practice to the recommendation’s end result.
The full report, including all recommendations, is online under Highlights.
In August, the NC Department of Public Instruction will present the Board with the plan to transition from the current system of writing tests at grades 4, 7 and 10 to the new writing assessment system. It is important to recognize that writing assessment as a concept and practice is not ending. The current, on-demand writing tests are scheduled to end. Please note, however, that the 10th grade writing test will continue as it is until a new grade 10 English test is developed. This is to comply with the No Child Left Behind requirements at the high school level.
In October, plans for implementing the other recommendations are slated to be presented. Some other highlights that you may want to know include the following: Feedback from a variety of educators and other constituent groups was sought, received and considered in the Board’s deliberations and decision-making.
The new accountability models planned for elementary, middle and high schools have not been hammered out yet. In fact, although we know that some elements should be included (for example, graduation rates at the high school level, particularly) the Board has not determined the precise weighting, measures and technical details for these new models. It is important also to remember that incentive awards such as those given out under the ABCs are only one small component of the accountability system. A plan for moving toward these new models will be presented in October.
Much has changed since 1996-97 when the ABCs of Public Education began in North Carolina and introduced school-level accountability across the state. Since then, testing expectations have changed; technology has entered the education system at a very quick pace; and expectations for students and teachers have changed. In the 21st century, there are elements that may need to be included that were not considered or possible in 1996.
North Carolina’s testing program for students is linked directly to the Standard Course of Study, the document (available online by subject and grade) that outlines the content standards that all students should reach. A critical element of the recommendations is the thorough review and revision of the entire Standard Course of Study. This must be done as quickly as possible, but also with a great deal of care and involvement of teachers, university subject experts and national content standards groups, among others.
A background packet on the ABCs of Public Education is online. It lists all elements currently in the models.