State Tests

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's Office of Accountability and Testing designs and manages statewide assessments that are administered to students enrolled in public and charter schools in grades 3–12. These assessments serve several purposes for the schools, the state, and federal guidelines.

Access online assessment tutorials, videos, and view released items. 

 

This Family Guide to Assessment explains the different types of assessments and how the data is used (en Espanol).

 

Tab/Accordion Items

  • The BOG3 Reading Test is aligned to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS) for grade 3 English Language Arts.
  • The BOG3 Reading Test must be administered during the state-designated testing window (i.e., days 1–15 of the school year).
    • Year round school calendars—NCTest does not open until July 18, 2025. Day one begins on July 18, 2025 for year round schools opening before that date.

BOG3 Resources

The CCRAA at grades 10 and 11 are appropriate for students with disabilities who have an IEP and

  • exhibit severe and pervasive delays in all areas of conceptual, linguistic, and academic development as well as in adaptive behaviors, including communication, daily living skills, and self-care;
  • are following a course of study that, upon completing high school, may not lead to admission into a college-level course of study resulting in a college degree (i.e., the Occupational Course of Study);
  • are not receiving instruction in the North Carolina Extended Content Standards; and
  • have a written parental request for an alternate assessment or have the CCRAA indicated as the required assessment in their IEP.

Grade 10

  • The CCRAA 10 is designed as an alternate assessment for participation in the PreACT.
  • The administration of the CCRAA 10 occurs simultaneously with the PreACT administration in the fall.

Grade 11

  • The CCRAA 11 is designed as an alternate assessment for participation in the ACT.
  • The CCRAA 11 is administered during the spring ACT accommodations testing window.

CCRAA  Resources

  • The EOC assessments are available for Biology, English II, NC Math 1, and NC Math 3. Students enrolled for credit in courses where EOC assessments are required must take the appropriate EOC assessment at the completion of the course.
  • The EOC assessments are aligned to the NCSCOS for English Language Arts and Mathematics and the North Carolina Essential Standards for Science.
  • All EOC assessments are required to be administered online. Exceptions to this rule are for approved technology hardship requests or for students with disabilities who have documented accommodations that dictate a paper test format is necessary for accessibility.
  • Per SBE policy TEST-003, schools are to use results from all EOC assessments as at least twenty (20) percent of the student’s final grade for each respective course.

EOC Resources

Reading

  • The EOG Reading Tests are aligned to the NCSCOS for English Language Arts.
  • The EOG testing window is the last ten (10) days of the school year.

Mathematics

  • The EOG Mathematics Tests are aligned to the NCSCOS for mathematics.
  • The EOG Mathematics Tests at grades 5 and 8 are required to be administered online. Exceptions to this rule are for approved technology hardship requests or for students with disabilities who have documented accommodations that dictate a paper test format is necessary for accessibility.
  • The EOG testing window is the last ten (10) days of the school year.

Science

  • The EOG Science Tests at grades 5 and 8 are aligned to the North Carolina Essential Standards for Science.
  • The EOG Science Tests are required to be administered online. Exceptions to this rule are for approved technology hardship requests or for students with disabilities who have documented accommodations that dictate a paper test format is necessary for accessibility.
  • The EOG testing window is the last ten (10) instructional days of the school year.

EOG 3-8 Resources

Article 8 Chapter §115C of the General Statutes includes Part 1A, the North Carolina Read to Achieve Program. The goal of this program “is to ensure that every student read at or above grade level by the end of third grade and continue to progress in reading proficiency so that he or she can read, comprehend, integrate, and apply complex texts needed for secondary education and career success.”

 

Grade 3 Read to Achieve (RtA) Resources

The North Carolina Personalized Assessment Tool is a system of through-course assessment opportunities aimed towards a balanced assessment system that will provide granular data for immediate feedback about students’ performance throughout the year. The system is currently being developed as a pilot under the U.S Department of Education’s Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA).

The current design purposes of North Carolina Personalized Assessment Tool are:

  • To provide educators, students, and stakeholders with immediate and detailed feedback on grade-level specific content standards so classroom instruction may be tailored to individual student’s needs;
  • To provide a progress indicator for each interim on individual student’s performance in relation to overall grade-level performance expectation (anticipated availability in the 2022–23 school year for Grades 4 and 7 in Reading and Mathematics); and
  • To serve as a reliable indicator to determine appropriate staged adaptive summative assessment that will provide an academic achievement level for students and for the statewide accountability model.

North Carolina Personalized Assessment Tool Resources

  • North Carolina participates in NAEP, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.
  • NAEP is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas.
  • Selected fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade students participate in NAEP.
  • State-level results are reported for grades 4 and 8 in Mathematics, Reading, Science, and Writing. This allows comparisons among states and the nation.
  • Selected students at ages 9, 13 and 17 participate in NAEP Long-Term Trend (LTT) assessments that are administered every four years in mathematics and reading. Results are only reported at the national level. Measuring trends of student achievement or change over time requires the precise replication of past procedures. Therefore, the LTT instrument does not evolve based on changes in curricula or educational practices, unlike the main NAEP.
  • Selected twelfth-grade students participate in NAEP. Results for grade 12 are only reported at the national level.
  • NAEP has special studies and assessments that are established by the National Assessment Governing Board.

NAEP Resources

NC Check-Ins 2.0

The North Carolina Personalized Assessment Tool is a system of through-course assessment opportunities aimed towards a balanced assessment system that will provide granular data for immediate feedback about students’ performance throughout the year. The system is currently being developed as a pilot under the U.S Department of Education’s Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) and consists of the NC Check-Ins 2.0 and a flexible summative assessment.

The current design purposes of NC Check-Ins 2.0 are:

  • To provide educators, students, and stakeholders with immediate and detailed feedback on grade-level specific content standards so classroom instruction may be tailored to individual student’s needs;
  • To serve as a reliable indicator to determine appropriate staged adaptive summative assessment that will provide an academic achievement level for students and for the statewide accountability model; and
  • To provide a progress indicator for each interim on individual student’s performance in relation to overall grade-level performance expectation (if feasible).

NC Check-Ins 2.0 Resources

  • The NCEXTEND1 is designed for students with disabilities who
    • have a current Individualized Education Program (IEP);
    • have a significant cognitive disability;
    • are instructed using the North Carolina Extended Content Standards (i.e., reading and mathematics) an the North Carolina Extended Essential Standards (i.e., science); and
    • are enrolled in grades 3–8, 10, or 11 according to PowerSchool.
  • Assessment items align with the North Carolina Extended Content Standards for Reading and Mathematics and the North Carolina Extended Essential Standards for Science.
  • The assessments are administered during designated state testing windows.
  • The NCEXTEND1 measures student performance in the following subject areas:
    • Reading at grades 3–8, 10, and 11;
    • Mathematics at grades 3–8, 10, and 11; and
    • Science at grades 5, 8, 10, and 11.

NCEXTEND1 Resources

PreACT Resources

The ACT® Resources

ACT WorkKeys® Resources

WIDA Screener for Kindergarten, WIDA Screener, and WIDA Alternate Screener

  • Language-minority students are identified through a home-language survey (HLS) process.
  • Results of the HLS process determine a student’s eligibility to be screened using one of the following state-adopted screeners: WIDA Screener for Kindergarten, WIDA Screener, or WIDA Alternate Screener.
  • The appropriate screener must be administered to students within 30 days of enrollment.
  • The appropriate screener is used to determine if the student is identified as an English Learner (EL).
  • The WIDA Screener is required to be administered online. WIDA Screener for Kindergarten and WIDA Alternate Screener are paper-based screeners.
  • Additional information on the HLS process and EL Identification in North Carolina may be found at the Multilingual Learner/Title III Virtual Repository.

WIDA ACCESS

  • The WIDA ACCESS test is the state-adopted annual English language proficiency test and must be administered online.
  • All students identified as ELs must be administered the WIDA ACCESS (or alternate) during the annual testing window.
  • The WIDA  ACCESS test consists of four domain tests that assess a student’s reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills.
  • The results from the annual administration of the WIDA ACCESS are used to measure progress and proficiency of ELs.
  • Students exit EL status by obtaining an overall composite score of 4.5 or above on the WIDA ACCESS test.
  • More information on the WIDA ACCESS test. 

WIDA Alternate ACCESS

  • The WIDA Alternate ACCESS is an assessment of English language proficiency for students in Kindergarten through grade 12 who are classified as English Learners (ELs) and have significant cognitive disabilities that prevent their meaningful participation in the WIDA ACCESS assessment.
  • All students identified as ELs must be administered the WIDA Alternate ACCESS during the annual testing window.
  • The WIDA Alternate ACCESS test consists of four domain tests that assess a student’s reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills.
  • Students exit EL status by reaching an overall composite score of PL2 or higher on the WIDA Alternate ACCESS test.
  • More information on the WIDA Alternate ACCESS test.
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