Local Testing

General Statute §115C-174.12 (d) requires each local board of education to “notify the State Board of Education (SBE) by October 1 of each year of any local standardized testing to be administered to students by the local school administrative unit at the discretion of the local board of education in its schools and the calendar for administering those tests.” The local board of education must include

• “the source of funds supporting the local testing program;
• the time allotted to administer each test;
• whether the test is a computer-based test or a paper-based test;
• the grade level or subject area associated with the test;
• the date the test results are expected to be available to teachers and parents;
• the type of test, the purpose of the test, and the use of the test results; and
• estimates of average time for administering tests required by the local board of education by grade level.

The local board of education shall meet the requirements of this subsection by inputting the information into a uniform calendar published by the Department of Public Instruction.”

General Statute §115C-174.12 (d1) states, “in each even-numbered year, each local board of education shall review all local standardized testing administered to students by the local school administrative unit at the direction of the local board of education for the prior two school years, in order to determine the number of tests administered to students and the number of hours required for students to complete the tests.

If the average over the prior two-year period of either (i) the number of tests administered or (ii) the number of hours required for students to complete the tests exceeds the State average over the prior two-year period, as published pursuant to subsection (e1) of this section, the local board of education shall submit to the Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education, by October 1 of the even-numbered year, a plan to eliminate certain local standardized testing in order to ensure that neither the number of tests nor the number of hours required for students to complete the tests exceeds the State average.”

Two-Year Schedule for State-Required Testing and Reporting Results

Interactive Local Testing Report
This interactive report accompanies the December 2019 Report to the North Carolina General Assembly, Testing Transparency––Statewide Administration of the Testing Program. The interactive report allows viewers to create state- or district-level views of local assessment data. Both an instructional guide and a video that explains how to use the tool is provided.

Local Testing Calendars
Calendars that denote any local standardized testing to be administered to students by the local school administrative unit at the direction of the local board of education in its schools and the calendar for administering those tests (§115C-174.12(d).