Why NC plans to keep testing students in person even as COVID-19 pandemic intensifies
North Carolina education leaders say they need to go ahead with state standardized tests this year to find out how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted students.
The State Board of Education gave tentative approval Wednesday to a proposal to ask for federal waivers to not hold schools accountable if large numbers of students opt out of the exams this year. But the board will not ask for a waiver from giving the tests, pointing to how the information can help them determine how students are doing.
“It’s fruitful that we not punish our institutions or our students for the situation that they are in at no cause of their own,” said state board chairman Eric Davis. “But at the same time, I think an essential element of our education recovery from the pandemic is to get as much information as we can about where students are academically and be able to determine strategies, resources, personnel about how to move our students forward.”
The board’s discussion comes as high school students across the state will take required state end-of-course exams and state career and technical education post assessment exams in December and January.
Citing federal requirements, the state Department of Public Instruction says the exams must be taken in person. That includes high school students who signed up for virtual classes to avoid being on campus during the coronavirus pandemic
N.C. Families For School Testing Reform said in a tweet Wednesday that the state board “repeated the tired tropes about how important EOC & CTE exams are — indeed, more important than lives.” The group has created an online petition calling for the state exams to be waived this year.
How much should tests count?
Some parents, particularly those of virtual students, have asked that the board waive the rule that the EOC and CTE exams count for at least 20% of the final grade in those classes.
The state board made no decision Wednesday on whether to change the grading requirement.
Davis said waiving the 20% requirement would make some families happy. But he said it would also upset other families who hope that doing well on the exams will raise their child’s final grade.
Board members and DPI staff talked Wednesday about the value of leaving the 20% requirement in place.
“This provides meaningful feedback of a student’s understanding of the course material,” said state board member Jill Camnitz. “But it also serves to motivate our students to take the test and to take it seriously.”
As an alternative, the state will let students wait until the end of June to take the exams. They’ll get a grade of “incomplete” for the class until the exam is taken.
Board members said that even if they approve the change, it would still require approval by the State Rules Review Commission.
Board members said they’ll need more time to think about the 20% rule before their January meeting, when they’ll officially vote on the federal waiver requests.
Tests required by feds, state
Both the state and federal governments require annual standardized tests to assess school and student performance and to decide on things such as teacher and principal bonuses. The exams were waived last school year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While it’s high school students who are primarily taking state exams in the fall semester, elementary and middle school students are also scheduled to take state end-of-grade exams in the spring.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos told states in September that no waivers from the exam would be considered at this time. But things could change when the Biden Administration takes office in January.
Deputy Superintendent David Stegall told the state board on Wednesday though that they have to operate on what they currently know from the federal government. Instead of a waiver from giving the tests, he said DPI wants to ask for waivers from:
▪ The requirement that 95% of eligible students at each school take the exams. If it’s not waived, schools are penalized when determining their performance.
▪ The accountability requirement that school performance grades be issued. Schools normally get A-F letter grades based on how well their students do on state exams.
State lawmakers would also have to approve not issuing the school performance grades.
Stegall cited how more students than normal will not take the exams this school year as a reason for seeking the waivers.
Value of test data promoted
But Stegall said there’s still value in giving the exams this school year to as many students as possible.
Many students have had no, or only limited, in-person instruction since March due to the pandemic. Stegall said the tests can help them determine how a student is progressing.
“We understand the vital need of finding out what our students need, what they’ve gained over the last nine months during COVID, making sure that we’re meeting their needs,” Stegall said.
State board member James Ford said the exams can help them “assess the damage that’s been done educationally.” But he said that the exams shouldn’t count for 20% of the final grade for students, especially those who can’t even access their online classes.
“To hold anybody accountable, any individual, any student, any school in this environment, the ultimate question we have to ask is what exactly are we assessing and what would these data even tell us and how would we hold somebody even accountable to that in such a precarious environment,” Ford said.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 6:59 PM with the headline "Why NC plans to keep testing students in person even as COVID-19 pandemic intensifies."
