NC Check-Ins 2.0 English II Specifications

NC Check-Ins 2.0
English II Specifications

Purpose and Overview

NC Check-Ins 2.0 are interim assessments aligned to North Carolina content standards in Reading for English II developed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI). There are two NC Check-Ins 2.0 for English II. It is suggested to administer an English II Check-In 2.0 about one third and two thirds of the way through the course. 

The main purpose of NC Check-Ins 2.0 is to provide students, teachers, parents, and stakeholders with immediate in-depth action-data and a reliable estimate of students’ current performance on the selected sub-set of content standards. A secondary purpose is derived from NC Check-Ins 2.0s’ strong relationship with the end-of-course (EOC) summative test. Both EOCs and NC Check-Ins 2.0 share a common item bank, and performance on the NC Check-Ins 2.0 serve as an early indicator of a student’s level of preparedness for the EOC English II summative test.

The NCDPI does not have validity evidence to support using results from NC Check-Ins 2.0 as a predictor of student performance on the EOC summative test. Even though there is evidence of a significant correlation between scores from NC Check-Ins 2.0 and EOCs, this correlation evidence by itself does not signify prediction. The overall value of NC Check-Ins 2.0 is the use of in-depth action-data for formative purposes throughout the year to help students and teachers adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes.

Content Specifications

The NC Check-Ins 2.0 are aligned to the NC Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS) for English Language Arts, adopted by the North Carolina State Board of Education in June 2017.

The NCSCOS may be reviewed by visiting the NCDPI/Academic Standards for English Language Arts webpage.

NC Check-Ins 2.0 A and B will assess the same reading standards (see Table 1). All students are expected to be able to comprehend texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through this course. 

Table 1. Content specifications English II NC Check-Ins 2.0 

NC Check-Ins 2.0 Format

The NC Check-Ins 2.0 are online resources with twenty-two to twenty-four questions each. Both reading interims will include four-option multiple-choice questions. Each reading interim will include three selections. The chart (Table 2) provides the anticipated number of selections (i.e., poetry, informational, literature) for each NC Check-In 2.0.

Table 2. Number of NC Check-Ins 2.0 English II reading selections

Administration and Review

To accommodate local control of curriculum, the NCDPI will offer a flexible administration and review window for all interims that will open the first week of September to the end of May. Public school units (PSUs) may choose to administer interims in the order that best aligns with their curriculum. The NCDPI recommends one interim administration per quarter. 

Proctors are not recommended for the administration of interims. The interims are not timed; however, the estimated time for most students to complete an interim is about ninety minutes. Schools have the option to administer the interims in one school day or over multiple school days. For multiple school days, the total administration time can be divided into mini sessions.

The interim item-review window for teachers will also be available from the first week of September to the end of May. Teachers may access interim forms after administration so they can conduct formative reviews with their students. The main purpose of these interims is to provide reliable formative data on course-level-specific content standards so teachers may adjust instruction. Previewing or disclosing interim content to students before an administration may result in an invalid interpretation about student performance on course-level-specific content standards.

Some schools may not have completed the entire scope for all standards assessed in a NC Check-In 2.0 before the administration.

The NCTest tutorial page has been updated to include technology-enhanced question sets for grade spans (grade three, grades four and five, middle school, and high school). These practice questions are not included in the Online Assessment Tutorial requirement but offer students additional exposure to grade-specific technology enhanced question types and may be accessed via https://go.ncdpi.gov/NCTest. 

These materials must not be used for personal or financial gain, are copyrighted to the NCDPI, and cannot be uploaded into third-party applications. Released items may be accessed via NCTest by clicking on the released items icon.