North Carolina Test of English II
In August 2020, a committee of North Carolina educators participated in a multi-phase standard setting for the North Carolina test of English II. The goal of the workshop was to identify cut scores that divide students into four achievement levels for English II (Not Proficient through Level 5). Effective with the 2019-20 school year, the State will report four levels as follows:
In September 2020, the State Board of Education (SBE) adopted college-and-career readiness Academic Achievement Standards and Academic Achievement Descriptors for the End-of-Course (EOC) English II.
English II Achievement Levels
| Achievement Level | Meets On-Grade-Level Proficiency Standard | Meets College-and-Career Readiness Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Level 5 | Yes | Yes |
| Level 4 | Yes | Yes |
| Level 3 | Yes | No |
| Not Proficient | No | No |
English II Achievement Level Ranges (Cut Scores)
| Subject | Not Proficient | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English II (starting with 2019-20 school year) | ≤ 548 | 549 - 554 | 555 - 564 | ≥ 565 |
Achievement Level Descriptors – English II
Not Proficient:
Students who are not proficient demonstrate inconsistent understanding of grade level content standards and will need support at the next grade/course.
Reading: Literature
- Attempt to cite textual evidence to support a simplistic analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- Attempt to determine an explicit theme of a text and attempt to analyze simplistically its development over the course of a text; attempt to provide a simplistic objective summary of the text.
- Attempt to analyze simplistically how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and/or advance the plot or develop the theme.
- Attempt to determine the meaning of common or familiar words and phrases as they are used in the text; attempt to analyze simplistically the impact of specific word choices on meaning and/or tone.
- Attempt to analyze simplistically how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it, or manipulate time create effects such as mystery, tension, or surprise.
- Attempt to analyze simplistically a particular perspective or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a reading of world literature.
Reading: Informational
- Attempt to cite textual evidence to support simplistic analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- Attempt to determine an explicit central idea of a text and attempt to analyze simplistically its development over the course of the text; attempt to provide a simplistic objective summary of the text.
- Attempt to analyze simplistically how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events including the order in which the points are made and the simplistic connections that are drawn between them.
- Attempt to determine the meaning of common or familiar words and phrases as they are used in a text; attempt to analyze simplistically the impact of specific word choices on meaning and/or tone.
- Attempt to analyze simplistically how an author’s ideas or claims are developed or refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text.
- Attempt to determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and attempt to analyze simplistically how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
- Attempt to delineate and evaluate simplistically the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; attempt to identify false statements.
Language
- Attempt to determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies: sentence-level context clues, known word parts, simple word relationships, and reference materials.
- Demonstrate emerging understanding of figurative language and nuances in word meanings: attempt to interpret common or familiar figures of speech in context based on grades 9–10 reading and content.
Achievement Level 3:
Students at Level 3 demonstrate sufficient understanding of grade level content standards though some support may be needed to engage with content at the next grade/course.
Reading: Literature
- Cite strong textual evidence to support a simplistic analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- Determine an explicit theme of a text and analyze simplistically its development over the course of a text, including how it emerges or is shaped or refined by details; provide a simplistic objective summary of the text.
- Analyze simplistically how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and/or advance the plot or develop the theme.
- Determine the meaning of common or familiar words and phrases as they are used in the text; analyze simplistically the impact of specific word choices on meaning and/or tone.
- Analyze simplistically how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it, or manipulate time create effects such as mystery, tension, or surprise.
- Analyze simplistically a particular perspective or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a reading of world literature.
Reading: Informational
- Cite strong textual evidence to support simplistic analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- Determine an explicit central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges or is shaped and refined by specific details; provide a simplistic, objective summary of the text.
- Analyze simplistically how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the simplistic connections that are drawn between them.
- Determine the meaning of common or familiar words and phrases as they are used in a text; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and/or tone.
- Analyze simplistically how an author’s ideas or claims are developed or refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text.
- Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze simplistically how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
- Delineate and evaluate simplistically the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements.
Language
- Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies: sentence-level context clues, known word parts, simple word relationships, and reference materials.
- Demonstrate simplistic understanding of figurative language and nuances in word meanings: interpret common or familiar figures of speech in context and analyze their role in the text based on grades 9–10 reading and content.
Achievement Level 4:
Students at Level 4 demonstrate a thorough understanding of grade level content standards and are on track for career and college.
Reading: Literature
- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- Determine a theme of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of a text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
- Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
- Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it, and manipulate time create effects such as mystery, tension, or surprise.
- Analyze a particular perspective or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
Reading: Informational
- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
- Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
- Analyze how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text.
- Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
- Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
Language
- Determine and/or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies: context clues, word parts, word relationships, and reference materials.
- Demonstrate understanding of figurative language and nuances in word meanings: interpret figures of speech in context and analyze their role in the text based on grades 9–10 reading and content.
Achievement Level 5:
Students at Level 5 demonstrate comprehensive understanding of grade level content standards, are on track for career and college, and are prepared for advanced content at the next grade/course.
Reading: Literature
- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support an in-depth analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as complex inferences drawn from the text.
- Determine an implicit theme of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of a text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an in-depth objective summary of the text.
- Analyze in depth how complex characters develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
- Determine the meaning of uncommon or unfamiliar words and phrases as they are used in the text; analyze in depth the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
- Analyze in depth how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it, and manipulate time create effects such as mystery, tension, or surprise.
- Analyze in depth a particular perspective or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
Reading: Informational
- Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support in-depth analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as complex inferences drawn from the text.
- Determine an implicit central idea of a text and analyze in depth its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an in- depth objective summary of the text.
- Analyze in depth how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the complex connections that are drawn between them.
- Determine the meaning of uncommon or unfamiliar words and phrases as they are used in a text; analyze in depth the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
- Analyze in depth how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text.
- Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze in depth how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
- Delineate and evaluate in depth the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
Language
- Determine and/or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies: paragraph-level context clues, word parts, complex word relationships, and reference materials.
- Demonstrate in-depth understanding of figurative language and nuances in word meanings: interpret uncommon or unfamiliar figures of speech in context and analyze their role in the text based on grades 9–10 reading and content.
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