3410 - Testing and Assessment Program ## Testing And Assessment Program

The Avery County Board of Education believes that an effective testing and assessment program evaluates the progress of individual students and helps to ensure that educational goals and objectives are being met for every child. A testing program also assists in the continued refinement of the instructional program. In addition, data from tests and assessments provide measures of student learning that are useful for evaluating educator effectiveness. Every effort will be made to ensure that the testing program contributes to the learning process rather than detracts from it. Efforts also will be made to ensure culture free or culture-fair tests in order to ensure that measurements are reasonably accurate.

A. Administration Of Tests, Screenings, And Other ## Assessments The superintendent shall provide for the proper administration of all state-required tests, screenings, and other assessments, and any state- required remedial instruction and/or retesting in accordance with all requirements established by law or the State Board of Education. The superintendent, in consultation with the school principals, shall determine how results from such measures will be used on determining students’ final grades, provided that the requirements described in Section B, below, and any other applicable state requirements are met.

The superintendent shall provide for the online administration of state-required tests to the extent required by the State Board of Education or the Department of Public Instruction, and otherwise as feasible within available resources. The superintendent shall keep the board informed of any resources or other measures needed to support online test administration.

Students may participate in field-testing and other sample testing as designated by the State Board or the Department of Public Instruction.

The superintendent shall develop security and administration procedures for the state testing program and other assessments that are consistent with State Board of Education requirements and relevant law. The superintendent shall ensure that all relevant personnel are instructed in such testing procedures. All testing personnel, teachers and school administrators are required to be familiar with and adhere to all applicable testing manuals, handbooks, and guides, including the Testing Code of Ethics, for state tests and locally-required. Failure to follow procedures may result in disciplinary sanctions, including termination or revocation of administrative and/or teaching licenses.

B. High School Final Exams And End-Of-Course Testing

High school students must take all end-of-course (EOC) tests, NC Final Exams, and Career and Technical Education State Assessments (CTE Post-Assessments) required by the State Board of Education. For all students, including English Learner students in their first year in a U.S. school and students following the Occupational Course of

Study Pathway, the results of EOC tests, NC Final Exams, and CTE Post- Assessments will count as 20 percent of a student’s final grade in each high school course for which there is an EOC test, NC Final Exam, or CTE Post-Assessment. However, the results of such assessments will not factor into a student’s final grade in a course during the initial implementation year of a new assessment for that course where scores are not immediately available due to standard setting.

C. Minimizing Time Spent Testing

The superintendent or designee shall ensure that the time that students spend taking standardized state and local tests is minimized and the frequency of field testing at a particular standardized state and local tests is minimized and the frequency of field testing at a particular school are minimized. Specifically, the superintendent shall ensure the following:

  1. Schools will devote no more than two days of instructional time per year to the taking of practice tests that do not have the primary purpose of assessing current student learning.

  2. Students will not be subject to field tests or national tests during the two-week period preceding their school’s administration of end-of-grade tests, end-of-course tests, or regularly scheduled final exams.

  3. No school will participate in more than two field tests at any one grade level during a school year.

  4. All annual assessments of student achievement adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to G.S. 115C-174.11(c)(1) or other applicable law and all final exams for courses will be administered within the final ten instructional days of the school year for year-long courses and within the final five instructional days of the semester for semester courses. Exceptions will be permitted on an individual basis to accommodate a student’s individualized education program or Section 504 plans; for the administration of final exams for courses with national or international curricula required to be held at designated times; for make-up testing; and as otherwise permitted by the Department of Public Instruction.

  5. Extra-Curricular activities will not be scheduled the evening before a final exam unless it is a state, regional, or conference activity.

Legal References: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. 1232g, -h; 34 C.F.R pt. 99; G.S.115C art. 10A; 115C -47, -81, -83.5, -83.6, -174.11, -174.12(a), - 174.13, -174.22, -174.25, -276, -288, -307, -402.5; 16 State Board of Education Policy series TEST and GRAD; EVAL-066, EVAL-025 through -031

Cross References: Goals and Objectives of the Educational Program (policy 3000), Professional Staff Development (policy 1610/7800), Student Promotion and

Accountability (policy 3420), Student Records (policy 4700), Public Records – Retention, Release, and Disposition (policy 5070/7350)

Other References: NC Final Exams Test Administrators’ Guides, available at http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/accountability/testing/common-exams/; North Carolina Test Coordinators’ Policies and Procedures Handbook, available at http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/accountability/policies/generalinfo

Adopted: 2000-12-04

Revised: 2006-03-20 2008-12-08 2009-09-14 2013-12-10 2014-09-30 2015-04-14 2016-07-14 2017-05-09 2019-02-12