COMMON EXAMS

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North Carolina's educator effectiveness model includes a teacher's contribution to student learning as an explicit standard in his or her evaluation. For some teachers in North Carolina, state-administered End-of-Grade assessments, End-of-Course assessments, and Career and Technical Education Post-Assessments can provide information on the growth of their students. For other teachers, the State Testing Program does not provide any content-specific measure of how those teachers contribute to the academic success of their students.

The Measures of Student Learning are common exams in selected subjects and grades that are not part of the NC State Testing Program. Growth in some subjects and grades, such as performing arts, will be measured through analyses of student work. The goal is to capture students' knowledge and skills in an authentic way.

The Measures of Student Learning are not new high-stakes assessments to be used in promotion decisions for students. They are not part of the school accountability model. Data from the assessments will not be published as part of the NC School Report Cards. Rather, the Measures of Student Learning are tools for school districts and charter schools to use as one part of the evaluation process for teachers.

WHAT THE MEASURES OF STUDENT LEARNING ARE WHAT THE MEASURES OF STUDENT LEARNING ARE NOT
  • Measures of what students know and are able to do after completing a course or grade
  • Tightly linked to the instruction that a teacher delivers
  • One part of how North Carolina will evaluate the effectiveness of its teachers
  • Substitutes for local final exams
  • Designed with input from teachers
  • Multiple-choice standardized exams for all areas of the Standard Course of Study
  • Assessments that need to be delivered with the same level of security as EOCs and EOGs
  • Designed without teacher input
  • The only source of data used to make decisions about a teacher's effectiveness
  • Part of the school accountability model

Since Fall 2011, over 800 educators representing 105 LEAs, charter schools, the North Carolina Virtual Public School, and the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention have joined design groups and provided feedback on the Common Core State Standards and Essential Standards in all content areas. The Department of Public Instruction is continuing its partnership with Technical Outreach for Public Schools (TOPS) at North Carolina State University to generate assessment items based on the feedback of the teachers. The design group members will then review and approve items for inclusion on the Measures of Student Learning.

The Measures of Student Learning are scheduled for launch during the 2012 – 13 school year.


March 2013 Update to State Board of Education
At their March meeting, members of the State Board of Education received an update on the Measures of Student Learning, including pilots on measuring growth in grades K-3 and the Arts, Healthful Living, and World Languages.
(pdf, 2.9mb)


Measures of Student Learning Timeline
The Measures of Student Learning are scheduled for launch during the 2012 – 13 school year. Administration during the first semester of 2012 - 2013 is optional. Please contact your district for information on the schedule for implementation timelines for your LEA.
(pdf, 83kb)


Quality Assurance Process for the Measures of Student Learning: NC's Common Exams
Prior to exploring value-added analysis with the results of the Common Exams, the Department of Public Instruction and SAS Institute will be conducting various quality assurance checks.
(pdf, 112kb)


Frequently Asked Questions
This resource provides answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions about the Measures of Student Learning: N's Common Exams.
(pdf, 326kb)


Implementation Guide
The Measures of Student Learning: NC's Common Exams implementation guide was revised March 2013. The guide provides details and guidance around the implementation of the Common Exams. The document also highlights areas of local flexibility and decision-making.
(pdf, 889kb)


Reflection on 2012-13 Administration of the Common Exams
The Department of Public Instruction has gathered feedback on the administration of the Common Exams during the 2012-13 school year, including needed areas for improvement during the 2013-14 school year.
(pdf, 360kb)


Scoring Rubrics
Each performance item on the Common Exams will have its own, item-specific rubric used for scoring. This resource provides general information on the various types of rubrics that will be used.

General Rubric Information
(pdf, 230kb)


Reference Materials for High School Measures of Student Learning
Students should have access to the following reference materials when taking the Physics, Chemistry, and Physical Science Measures of Student Learning.

Students should be provided with graph paper when taking the Pre-calculus and Advanced Functions in Modeling Measures of Student Learning. Schools may use this PDF file, but can also use any graph paper already purchased.

Graph Paper (pdf, 404kb)

Students should have access to the following formula sheet when taking the Pre-Calculus and Advanced Functions and Modeling Measures of Student Learning.

Formula Sheet (pdf, 37kb)


Best Practices

The Department of Public Instruction is providing a series of resources on best practices for the administration of the Measures of Student Learning: NC's Common Exams.

Best Practices for Scoring Performance Tasks
(pdf, 232kb)


Course Codes Aligned to the Measures of Student Learning: NC's Common Exams

The following document provides course codes aligned with the Measures of Student Learning: NC's Common Exams.

Course Code Alignment for Common Exams
(pdf, 181kb)


Common Exam Scoring Module

The online module on scoring the performance items on the Measures of Student Learning: NC's Common Exams is now live in NC Education. The direct link to the module is: here . Clicking on that link will take the user to NC Education, but he or she will need to sign in to access the course. Another way to access the module is to log into NC Education, then search using the title "MSL Grades 9 – 12."

The module includes a general section that all teachers should complete, and then a specific section for each content area: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. A teacher can print a certificate of completion after each section. Prior to the release of the module, DPI recommends that districts consider how teachers should complete the module. Some districts may want teachers to complete all of the sections, while others may only require them to complete the section on their own content area.