NC schools want lawmakers to suspend student testing requirements due to pandemic
North Carolina lawmakers are being asked to help the state’s public schools get through the coronavirus crisis by temporarily suspending requirements on student testing, school grading and teacher licensure renewal.
The State Board of Education approved Thursday a lengthy list of waivers from state law that it says are needed because schools can’t function the way they normally would due to the pandemic. Board members said the waivers don’t mean they are setting a lower bar for the state’s 1.5 million public school students.
“The waiver requests we’re about to discuss do not reflect any change in the board’s support of high academic standards, effective assessments to inform instruction or an accountability system that continuously drives improved academic achievement for our students,” said state board chairman Eric Davis. “Consideration of these requests are necessitated by the unique events of COVID-19.”
The General Assembly will return to session April 28. State House Speaker Tim Moore formed several working groups to recommend how the legislature should respond to the emergency.
All North Carolina K-12 public schools have been closed since Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order on March 14. He extended the order through May 15, but it’s uncertain whether schools will reopen this school year.
States seek school testing relief
Many states, including North Carolina, have received the U.S. Department of Education’s approval to not give standardized tests to students this school year.
But the state’s exams are also used for things such as evaluating teachers, giving bonuses to principals and teachers and giving A-F letter grades to public schools based on their performance.
The state board approved a testing waiver for 19 items that includes asking lawmakers to temporarily suspend:
▪ Giving end-of-grade exams in grades 3-8 and end-of-course exams in high school.
▪ Giving K-3 reading diagnostic assessments required by the Read To Achieve program.
▪ Using the reading exams to decide whether to promote 3rd-grade students.
▪ Evaluating teachers based on their students’ test scores.
▪ Giving schools an A through F school performance grade.
▪ Giving bonuses for principals and teachers based on state test data.
Other requests approved by the state board on Thursday include:
▪ Giving a one-year extension for teachers whose licenses expire in June.
▪ Waiving the graduation requirement that high school seniors had to have completed CPR instruction.
Istation contract extended
Also on Thursday, the state board approved paying $243,310 to Istation to continue using the company’s program to assess the reading skills of K-3 students. An emergency contract had expired March 31.
The state board had voted March 27 to table extending Istation’s contract for $1.2 million.
“The contract amendment, which reflects a considerable cost savings from prior proposals during a time of economic uncertainty, is consistent with the State Board’s determination that investing in year-end tests and state-level formative assessments is not the best use of state resources at the present time,” according to a press release Thursday.
But State Superintendent Mark Johnson accused the state board of shifting the costs onto local districts.
“It is disappointing that the State Board will now make school districts use local funds if they want to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 school shutdown on our youngest students’ reading skills,” Johnson said in a statement.
House meets about waivers, school report cards
At the same time the Board of Education was meeting, so too was the General Assembly House Select Committee on COVID-19 Education Working Group. Lawmakers listened to a presentation about what legislative action and waivers could be needed to respond to school closures and the statewide stay at home order.
The committee didn’t vote, but heard recommendations from the chairs, who are Guilford County Democratic Rep. Ashton Wheeler Clemmons, Iredell County Republican Rep. John Fraley and Union County Republican Rep. Craig Horn.
The chairs recommended that the legislature waiving requirements for any form of diagnostic testing that was not already completed for the school year for younger elementary school students. Because EOGs and testing are used to evaluate if a student goes to a summer reading camp, they recommended waiving the summer reading camps for 2020.
The House committee chairs also recommend waiving publication of school report cards. They recommend no new low performing school identifications be made, instead keeping their current identifications so they continue to receive support.
For the Innovative School District, Clemmons, Fraley and Horn recommended that no school be selected for ISD for the 2020-21 school year.
The committee also heard what waivers might be needed on other testing and teacher and administration licensing and evaluations. They didn’t take any action Thursday, but will vote next week.
When the education committee meets next week they will also discuss school calendar flexibility.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 4:06 PM.
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