North Carolina § 115C-174 - 10. Purposes of the Statewide Testing Program.

§ 115C-174. 10. Purposes of the Statewide Testing Program.

The testing programs in this Article have three purposes: (i) to assure that all high school graduates possess those minimum skills and that knowledge thought necessary to function as a member of society; (ii) to provide a means of identifying strengths and weaknesses in the education process in order to improve instructional delivery; and (iii) to establish additional means for making the education system at the State, local, and school levels accountable to the public for results. History (1977, c. 522, s. 1; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 1014, s. 74(a); 1995, c. 524, s. 2; 2009-451, s. 7.20(a).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2007-445, s. 1(a)-(c), provides: "(a) The State Board of Education shall designate schools which meet two or more of the following criteria as high-need schools: "(1) More than forty-five percent (45%) of students perform at Level 1 or Level 2 on end-of-grade or end-of-course tests, "(2) Teacher turnover rate is greater than twenty-five percent (25%), or "(3) More than eighty percent (80%) of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. "(b) Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, to ensure that the schools designated as high-need schools by the State Board of Education have the high quality staff and the additional support they need, the following modifications to law, policy, or both shall apply: "(1) National Board Certified Teachers who serve as mentors, literacy coaches, or in other nonadministrative instructional leadership positions at these schools shall retain the twelve percent (12%) salary increment for NBPTS certification, notwithstanding G.S. 115C-296.2 . "(2) National Board Certified Teachers, teachers of the year, and other categories of accomplished teachers designated by the State Board of Education shall be given the academic freedom at these schools to use research-based practices in the classroom that go beyond the standard course of study. "(c) The State Board of Education shall consider the following strategies to ensure that the high-need schools have the high quality staff and the additional support they need and shall report by January 15, 2008, to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the cost of implementing for the 2008-2009 fiscal year: "(1) Adding additional teacher positions at these schools to reduce class size. "(2) Providing incentives to attract National Board Certified Teachers to these schools. "(3) Employing teachers at these schools for 11 months. These teachers shall use the extra month of employment for curriculum development, staff development, and planning for the next school year." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 7.27(b), (c), provides: "(b) By October 1, 2017, the State Superintendent shall issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to vendors of diagnostic reading assessment instruments to provide one or more valid, reliable, formative, and diagnostic reading assessment instrument or instruments for use pursuant to G.S. 115C-174.11 . At a minimum, the diagnostic reading assessment instrument or instruments provided by the selected vendor shall meet all of the following criteria: "(1) Yield data that can be used with the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS). "(2) Demonstrate close alignment with student performance on State assessments, including all assessments required in kindergarten through third grade by Part 2 of Article 10A of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes. "(3) Demonstrate high rates of predictability as to student performance on State assessments, including all assessments required in kindergarten through third grade by Part 2 of Article 10A of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes. "(c) The State Superintendent shall form and supervise an Evaluation Panel to review the proposals received pursuant to the RFP issued in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. The Evaluation Panel shall be composed of persons employed within the Department of Public Instruction. By March 1, 2018, the Evaluation Panel, with the approval of the State Superintendent, shall select one vendor to provide the assessment instrument or instruments for the 2018-2019 school year. In determining which vendor to select, the Evaluation Panel shall consider, at a minimum, all of the following factors: "(1) The time required to conduct formative and diagnostic assessments with the intention of minimizing the impact on instructional time. "(2) The level of integration of assessment results with instructional support for teachers and students. "(3) The timeliness in reporting assessment results to teachers and administrators. "(4) The ability to provide timely assessment results to parents and guardians." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2017.'" Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.6, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2019-212, s. 1, provides: "Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, the State Board of Education shall eliminate the use of the NC Final Exam as part of the statewide testing program to assess teacher performance and professional growth. The NC Final Exam shall not be administered as part of the statewide testing program for any other purpose. No later than March 15, 2020, the State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction shall submit to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee a plan on how to use other means to accomplish the purposes for which data is collected by the NC Final Exam.” Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2009-451, s. 7.20(a), effective July 1, 2009, deleted "three" preceding "testing."