ACCOUNTABILITY SERVICES

DIVISION MISSION :: The mission of the Accountability Services Division is to promote the academic achievement of all North Carolina public school students and to assist stakeholders in understanding and gauging this achievement against state and national standards. The major thrust of this mission is three-fold: the design and development of reliable and valid assessment instruments, the uniform implementation of and access to suitable assessment instruments for all students; and the provision of accurate and statistically appropriate reports.
(Revised September 2005)

NOTE :: Various file formats are used on this page that may require download. If larger than 1mb, it will take longer to download. For instructions or more information, please visit our download page.

HOT TOPICS

Online Assessments 2012-13: What You Need to Know (ppt, 1.71mb)
This presentation was used during the webinar on November 19, 2012 to LEA test coordinators and technical staff within the state.

Accountability, Testing, and Common Exams Webinar Presentation (ppt, 2mb)
This presentation was used during the webinar on October 25, 2012 to stakeholders within the state. A recording of this webinar will be available in the coming weeks.

DRAFT Achievement Level Descriptors
The standard setting process for the READY End-of-Grade and READY End-of-Course assessments will occur during summer 2013. Pending the results of the scaling and standard-setting process and the approval of the achievement standards by the State Board of Education, DRAFT Achievement Level Descriptors that outline the specific student expectations at each grade and subject for each of the four achievement levels are available for the following assessments:

English Language Arts Grades 3-8 (pdf, 72kb)
Mathematics Grades 3-8 (pdf, 70kb)
Science Grades 5 and 8 (pdf, 70kb)
ELA and Mathematics Grades 3-8 and Science Grades 5 & 8 Combined (pdf, 79kb)

High School English II (pdf, 76kb)
High School Algebra I/Integrated I (pdf, 72kb)
High School Biology (pdf, 72kb)
High School English II, Algebra I/Integrated I, and Biology Combined (pdf, 86kb)

NCEXTEND1 Grades 3-8, 10 & 11 (pdf, 38kb)

The ABCs of Public Education
The 2011-12 ABCs/AMOs Reports

The North Carolina 2012 SAT Report
2012 report on the nation, the state, the public school systems, charter schools, North Carolina School of the Arts, and North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

Revisions to Mathematics Test Specifications at Grades 6 & 7 (September 25, 2012) (doc, 11kb)
Minor revisions that have been made to ensure the tests align more closely with recently released Common Core State Standards (CCSS) mathematics documents.

Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) Flexibility
On May 31, 2012, the United States Department of Education (USED) approved North Carolina’s flexibility waiver request from some of the requirements of No Child Left Behind as specified in the ESEA. In lieu of the reauthorization of ESEA by Congress, the waiver will remain in effect for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years. For additional information, visit the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) webpage in the Federal Program Monitoring section.

The 2012-13 North Carolina Statewide Operational Testing Calendar (pdf, 22kb)

2012-13 Field Tests and Special Studies Calendar (pdf, 63kb)

July 13, 2012 Memo - Request for Testing Exceptions Based on Significant Medical
Emergencies and/or Conditions (pdf, 75kb)
The Request for Testing Exceptions Based on Significant Medical Emergencies and/or Conditions memo from Rebecca Garland and Angela Quick outlines policies and procedures concerning requests for testing exceptions based on significant medical emergencies.

Sample Forms of Next Generation Assessments
Sample forms of the new READY End of Course (EOC) assessments for English II,
Algebra I/Integrated I, and Biology will be available on the web early fall 2012. Sample forms of the new READY End of Grade (EOG) assessments in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science will be available on the web late winter 2013. The sample forms will be made available on the current released forms web page.

Guidelines, Practice and Examples for Math Gridded Response Items

Grade 5 Guidelines and Practice (doc, 84kb)
Grade 5 Examples (pdf, 50kb)
Grades 6-8 Guidelines and Practice (doc, 92kb)
Grades 6-8 Examples (pdf, 51kb)

North Carolina READY School Accountability Reporting: Globally Competitive Students (pdf, 517kb)
Presentation given to the SBE on May 2, 2012.

ACT North Carolina State Testing Website
North Carolina will begin administering three new assessments (the ACT, PLAN, and WorkKeys) in 2011-12 in preparation for the state's new accountability model and to provide additional diagnostic tools for students and their teachers. For more information about these assessments, please visit the ACT website.

ACT Webinar: Understanding and Utilizing Report Data (Recorded April 20,2012)
This link is to the recorded version ot the ACT Webinar: Understanding and Utilizing Report Data, presented by Mike DiNicola and Jackie Pearson, ACT Consultants for Program Solutions, on Friday, April 20, 2012.

To view the webinar, you will be asked to enter your name, email address, and district as if you were registering for the live webinar. The entire webinar was recorded, including the question and answer segment at the end. The facilitator of the session, Kayla Siler, is the person reading the questions asked by the participants.

The April 20th webinar is a repeat of the webinar presented on Thursday, April 19th by the same presenters. ACT Senior Consultants, Jacque Twiggs and Mary Hendricks, were also present at both sessions of the webinar.

Elimination of the Grade 10 Writing Assessment for the 2011-12 School Year
The NCDPI has received notification of approval from the United States Department of Education (USED) to eliminate the grade 10 writing test for the 2011-12 school year. The continued use of the North Carolina End-of-Course Test of English I in 2011-12 is sufficient to meet the ESEA assessment requirements for high school reading/language arts. See the memo from the USED for additional information. (pdf, 57kb)

North Carolina State Testing ACT—Accommodations Webinar (Recorded on December 5, 2011) (mov, 36.2mb)

Webinar Presentation Slides (pdf, 749kb)
Webinar Transcript (pdf, 125kb)

PLAN Informational Webinar (Presented on November 9 & 10, 2011) (mov, 32.1mb)

Webinar Presentation Slides (pdf, 3.2mb)

North Carolina State Testing ACT & PLAN Implementation Webinar (Recorded on October 3, 2011) (mov, 25.2mb)

Webinar Presentation Slides (pdf, 1.2mb)

2010-11 ABCs/AYP Report (pdf, 391kb)
ABCs/AYP Report presented to the State Board of Education on August 4, 2011.

Preliminary 2010-11 EOG and EOC Test Results Report (xls, 639kb)
Preliminary results released in conjunction with the ABCs/AYP results presented to the State Board of Education on August 4, 2011.

Test Specifications for the Next Generation of Assessments
Specifications for the Next Generation of Assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and the North Carolina Essential Standards for Science are now available. Information on the prioritization of the standards, cognitive rigor, item complexity, item types, and assessment delivery modes is included.

2010-2011 NCEXTEND1 Audit Report (pdf, 177kb)
This report documents the entire NCEXTEND1 audit process and includes a discussion of the findings.

Preliminary Results of Student Performance on the North Carolina Writing Assessment at
Grade 10 2010-11 (June 1, 2011) (pdf, 420kb)

Elimination of Competency and Computer Skills Graduation Requirement
To comply with Senate Bill 202/S.L. 2009-451, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) eliminated, effective July 1, 2009, the Competency Tests in Reading and Mathematics and the Computer Skills Tests and their alternate assessments. Because there are students who have failed to meet the competency and/or computer skills proficiency standards, a Transition Plan for Competency and Computer Skills and supplemental information were developed by the NCDPI to address the graduation requirements for these students.

Reasons for the Elimination of State Tests
A Web page containing detailed information on the reasons some state tests were eliminated.

Framework for Change Update (September 4, 2008) (pdf, 25kb)
The information within this document provides an update on the progress made in implementing the action steps for immediate improvement and development of the next generation of standards, assessments, and accountability that the State Board of Education (SBE) approved June 5, 2008, and is directing the Department of Public Instruction to implement.

ACCOUNTABILITY SERVICES

HOT TOPICS

POPULAR TOPICS