“All students were properly monitored, and test materials were secured in accordance with testing protocols,” the district said in an email to employees, which The Charlotte Observer obtained through a public records request. “Schools will share updated testing schedules directly with affected students and families once finalized.”
Affected students’ families would be notified Thursday afternoon, the message said.
Students in grades 3-8 are taking end-of-grade tests across the state this week, with the exception of some districts that began the school year earlier in the fall.
State testing has been administered primarily online since the 2017-18 school year. By the 2022-23 school year, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction required all end-of-grade testing to be administered online, except for students with a documented need for accessibility accommodations.
Each public school in the state is given a “school performance grade” on an A-F scale each year, and end-of-grade test results are the main component used to determine a school’s score.
End-of-grade assessments are meant to measure if students have mastered the grade-appropriate content laid out in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. If students do not score a passing grade on their end-of-grade assessments, that does not mean they’ll be prevented from moving on to the next grade. Test scores are just one data point that may be used in determining if a child should be held back, alongside classroom grades, teacher recommendations and attendance.
NCDPI officials said Thursday’s testing problems were local, not statewide, WFAE reported.
CMS has not yet responded to questions about how many students were impacted by the disruptions and how testing schedules would be affected.
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