RALEIGH - North Carolina's public school testing program could be overhauled as part of a sweeping series of changes that could affect how students are tested and how teachers get their bonuses.

Students could take fewer state tests, especially in writing, and teacher bonuses could be tied into how many students graduate from high school. Those were among the recommendations that a committee of State Board of Education members said Wednesday are needed to modernize North Carolina's testing system.

"Developing a 21st century system will take time," said Wayne McDevitt, vice chairman of the state board. "We need to do this, but we need to do this right."

McDevitt headed a group of state board members that reviewed the recommendations of a commission on testing and accountability. The commission was formed by the state board in May 2007 to review the state's 15-year-old ABCs of Education testing program.

"The system we have in place has plateaued," said Sam Houston, chairman of the commission. "It's time to move on."

McDevitt's group adopted most of the recommendations from the commission.

For instance, the commission found that too much time was being spent on testing.

The state board responded by recommending the elimination of state writing tests given in fourth, seventh and 10th grades. They are recommending that state educators instead develop a new series of writing assignments, across all grade levels, that local school districts would hand out.

Many educators have complained that the state writing tests aren't a good measure of writing skills. They point to how North Carolina was the only state whose scores dropped on a recent national writing test as proof.

"The current instrument isn't giving us what we need to improve the writing of our students," said Howard Lee, chairman of the state board.

But John Tate, a member of the state board, raised concerns about the message being sent by eliminating the writing exams.

"It feels to me like we're relaxing standards," Tate said.

In another potentially major change, McDevitt recommended using high school graduation rates to help determine bonuses for teachers. A little more than 70 percent of students graduate from high school in five years.

"If you think about it, 13 years of school is what it's all about," Houston said. "It's about finishing the job."

Other changes proposed by the commission and being recommended by the state board committee include:

* Releasing a version of every state test to the public so they can see the questions that are being asked.

* Counting retests in determining what percentage of students passed exams at each school.

* Not requiring middle school students who are taking state high school exams to also take state middle school exams in a similar subject.

* Overhauling the curriculum.

McDevitt didn't back all of the committee's recommendations. He did not support eliminating the eighth-grade computer skills test or dropping five high school tests from the testing program.

The State Board of Education will take public comments on the changes before voting in June.

"I'm sure they'll get plenty of reaction," Houston said.

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