Assessment Information

School Level: High
Subject/Type: College Entrance Exams
Required or Optional: Required by state
Who takes it?: Students in Grade 11
What is it and why is it important?: The ACT is a standardized, curriculum-based, multiple-choice achievement test that includes four areas: English, mathematics, reading and science. The ACT writing test is optional. The ACT assesses skills and knowledge that are important for success in college.
How are results used?: Results are used by high schools for advising and counseling students, by OCS for evaluating instructional effectiveness and planning curriculum, and by colleges and universities to make decisions regarding admissions, scholarships and loans and course placement. Results are also used as part of the state’s high school accountability framework.

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School Level: High
Subject/Type: Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Required or Optional: Required by state
Who takes it?: Potential graduates who are identified as Career and Technical Education concentrators
What is it and why is it important?: The three ACT WorkKeys assessments measure mastery of Applied Mathematics, Locating Information and Reading for Information.
How are results used?: Results are the basis of the National Career Readiness Certificate program and connect work skills, training and skill testing for educators and employers. Results are also used as part of the state’s high school accountability framework.

School Level: High
Subject/Type: Various
Required or Optional: Optional
Who takes it?: IB or AP students enrolled in AP/IB courses
What is it and why is it important?: The AP program allows students to take college-level courses and exams to earn college credit. There are 34 different AP exams that consist of multiple-choice and free-response items. All AP exams are optional for students.
How are results used?: Students’ AP exam results enhance their college applications and eligibility for scholarships. Results are also used by high schools for advising and counseling students, by OCS for evaluating instructional effectiveness and planning curriculum, and by colleges and universities to make decisions regarding admissions and scholarships.

School Level: Elementary

Subject/Type: English/Language Arts

Required or Optional: Required by county

Who takes it?: Students in Grades K-3

What is it and why is it important?: DIBELS ® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is a set of procedures and measures for assessing the acquisition of literacy skills. They are designed to be short (one minute) fluency measures that can be used to regularly detect risk and monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills in kindergarten through eighth grade.

How are results used?: When implemented as recommended, DIBELS results can be used to evaluate individual student development as well as provide grade-level feedback toward validated instructional objectives. The research-based subtests are predictive of later reading proficiency and contribute to a composite score that is the single best predictor of later reading development. The measures are consistent with many of the Common Core State Standards in Reading, especially those for Foundational Skills. Combined, the measures form an assessment system of early literacy development that allows educators to readily and reliably determine student progress.

School Level: High
Subject/Type: Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate
Required or Optional: Required for students wanting to earn an IB Diploma
Who takes it?: IB juniors and seniors in the final year of an IB course
What is it and why is it important?: At the end of each course, students sit for an external examination prepared by an International Board of Examiners, which has the final authority on the setting of examinations and the assessment of all candidates for the awarding of the IB diploma. International Baccalaureate course exams are rigorous, and performance is measured against predetermined criteria rather than the performance of other students taking the same examinations.
How are results used?: Results are used by high schools for advising and counseling students, by OCS and IB for evaluating instructional effectiveness and planning curriculum, to determine awarding of IB diplomas, and by colleges and universities to make decisions regarding admissions, scholarships and course credit or placement.

School Level: Elementary and Middle

Subject/Type: English/Language Arts and Math

Required or Optional: Required by county

Who takes it?: Reading Grades 4-8;Math Grades 6-8

What is it and why is it important?: i‑Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment designed to provide teachers with actionable insight into student needs. It offers a complete picture of student performance and growth. 

How are results used?: By adapting to student responses and assessing a broad range of skills—including skills above and below a student’s chronological grade—the i‑Ready Diagnostic pinpoints student ability level, identifies the specific skills students need to learn to accelerate their growth, and charts a personalized learning path for each student.

School Level: All

Subject/Type: English / Language Arts / Science

Required or Optional: Optional

Who takes it?: Grades 3-12

What is it and why is it important?: NC Check-Ins are interim assessments aligned to North Carolina grade-level content standards.  The end-of-grade (EOG) and end-of-course (EOC) tests share a common question bank with the NC Check-Ins, which then exposes NC Check-In students to similar question types and rigor found on the EOGs and EOCs.

How are results used?: The main purpose of NC Check-Ins is to provide students, teachers, and parents with immediate in-depth action data and a reliable estimate of students’ current performance on selected subsets of content standards.

School Level: Elementary

Subject/Type: English / Language Arts

Required or Optional: Required by state

Who takes it?: All Grade 3 students

What is it and why is it important?: The Beginning of Grade 3 (BOG) test is the state’s mandated reading assessment to collect baseline data in English/Language Arts (ELA).

How are results used?: Results are used by the state to measure student growth between the beginning and end of the third grade year for school accountability, as well as for teacher and principal evaluation purposes (as per State Board policy GCS-A-016).

School Level: Elementary/Middle
Subject/Type: Mathematics
Required or Optional: Required by state
Who takes it?: All Grade 3 - 8 students [grade 8 if enrolled in Math I does not take the EOG for grade 8]
What is it and why is it important?: The EOG assessments are state-mandated tests that measure students’ mastery of state standards in ELA/ Reading, Mathematics and Science.
How are results used?: The state uses EOG results for school accountability as well as teacher and principal evaluation purposes (as per State Board policy GCS-A-016). Results are also used for school improvement planning.

School Level: Elementary/Middle
Subject/Type: English / Language Arts
Required or Optional: Required by state
Who takes it?: All students grades 3-8
What is it and why is it important?: The EOG assessments are state-mandated tests that measure students’ mastery of state standards in ELA/ Reading, Mathematics and Science.
How are results used?: The state uses EOG results for school accountability as well as teacher and principal evaluation purposes (as per State Board policy GCS-A-016). Results are also used for school improvement planning.

School Level: Elementary/Middle
Subject/Type: Science
Required or Optional: Required by state
Who takes it?: All 5th grade and 8th grade students
What is it and why is it important?: The EOG assessments are state-mandated tests that measure students’ mastery of state standards in ELA/ Reading, Mathematics and Science.
How are results used?: The state uses EOG results for school accountability as well as teacher and principal evaluation purposes (as per State Board policy GCS-A-016). Results are also used for school improvement planning.

School Level: Middle/High
Subject/Type: Multiple
Required or Optional: Required by state
Who takes it?: All students enrolled in Math 1, Math 3, English II, or Biology
What is it and why is it important?: The EOC assessments are state-mandated tests that measure mastery of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts/ Reading and Mathematics, and the N.C. Essential Standards for Science.
How are results used?: The results of the EOC tests are used for school accountability as well as for teacher and principal evaluation purposes (as per State Board policy GCS-A-016). Results are also used for school improvement planning. For students, EOC tests also counts for a percentage of a student’s final grade in the course as per state policy.

School Level: High
Subject/Type: College Entrance Exams
Required or Optional: Required by state
Who takes it?: Students in Grade 10
What is it and why is it important?: The Pre-ACT is a standardized, curriculum-based, multiple-choice achievement test that includes four areas: English, mathematics, reading and science, reported on the same scale as the ACT.
How are results used?: Results are used by high schools for advising and counseling students, by OCS for evaluating instructional effectiveness and planning curriculum, for predicting which students are on track to be ready for college, and as a source of data to help counselors, students and parents make appropriate course placement decisions.

School Level: High
Subject/Type: College Entrance Exams
Required or Optional: Optional
Who takes it?: Open to any student each fall
What is it and why is it important?: The PSAT is a standardized, multiple-choice test that includes three sections: critical reading, mathematics and writing. The test provides practice for the SAT and allows students the opportunity to enter National Merit scholarship programs. Individual PSAT results are helpful for advising and counseling students.
How are results used?: At the high school and division levels, PSAT results are used to evaluate instructional effectiveness and to plan curriculum, serving as an additional piece of data for student course placement. Results are also used to qualify 11th graders for National Merit Scholarships.

School Level: High
Subject/Type: College Entrance Exams
Required or Optional: Required by many colleges for admission
Who takes it?: High school students bound for colleges
What is it and why is it important?: There are two types of SAT tests offered: the SAT and the SAT Subject Tests. The SAT is a standardized, multiple-choice test with three sections: critical reading, mathematics and writing. The SAT assesses skills students need to be successful in college.
How are results used?: Results are used by high schools for advising and counseling students, and by colleges and universities to make decisions regarding admissions, scholarships and loans, course placement and academic advising.