Is your CMS student expected to go in person for testing? Here’s what to know.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools high school students who opted out of in-person instruction will still have to come back to their classrooms to take mandatory state tests at the end of December.

Roughly one-third of the district’s students signed up for the full-remote academy, which provides virtual instruction even if the district decides to resume in-person learning.

But state and federal requirements mean the end-of-course exams must be administered in-person and cannot be taken remotely, prompting concerns from families who signed up for remote learning to keep their children out of school buildings during the pandemic.

Federal and state requirements mean the tests count for 20% of a student’s final grade, and 95% of students in the district must take them. The data from end-of-course tests are used in determining school performance grades and in evaluating teachers.

CMS does not have the ability to lift that requirement without a waiver from state and federal officials, which the district is working to obtain. Those waivers were granted in the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic, but have not been given for the current year.

Currently, only pre-K, elementary and some students with disabilities are receiving in-person instruction in CMS. Students enrolled middle school grades at K-8 schools will begin rotating through in-person instruction on Nov. 30. The rest of the districts middle and high school students will begin their in-person rotations on Jan. 5.

Here are answers to questions about end-of-course testing in CMS.

What tests are required to be administered in-person?

Students enrolled in Math I, Math III, English II, Biology and some career and technical education courses will be required to complete their end of course exams in-person. Those students are primarily in high school, but a district spokesman said a small number of middle school students are enrolled in those courses and will also have to report to school buildings.

Early high school graduates who are taking the ACT WorkKeys exam will also be tested in-person.

When is this happening?

Tests are scheduled between Dec. 14 and Dec. 21.

Can I get an exemption?

CMS cannot exempt individual students from in-person testing. However, families may submit an exemption request to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

A school may submit a request to exempt a student from a state assessment if they are unable to take the test during the entire testing window, including makeup dates, due to a significant medical emergency. The bar for exemptions is high. District spokesman Brian Hacker said examples include, but are not limited to, terminal or degenerative illness, a student being comatose or a student receiving extensive short-term medical treatment due to an emergency.

The request must show “why the student’s medical emergency and/or condition has impacted the student’s instruction to the point that it prevents their participation in the respective test administration during the testing window and the subsequent makeup period,” Hacker said.

Are CMS officials trying to change this?

CMS officials have sought a waiver from the in-person testing requirement from both state and federal agencies. However, the district itself does not have the power to waive the requirement to weight the test as 20% of the student’s final grade or the requirement to administer tests in-person.

Earlier this month, Superintendent Earnest Winston waived a requirement to count locally administered final exams as 20% of a student’s grade. However, that only applies to exams given by CMS, not the federal and state mandated exams that are bringing students back to campus.

What COVID-19 precautions are being taken in exam rooms?

CMS will follow the safety precautions it has put in place for in-person instruction during testing. That includes symptom screening, required mask-wearing, and socially distancing students work spaces.