2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 115C-174.12. Responsibilities of agencies.

§ 115C‑174.12.  Responsibilities of agencies.

(a)       The State Board of Education shall establish policies and guidelines necessary for minimizing the time students spend taking tests administered through State and local testing programs, for minimizing the frequency of field testing at any one school, and for otherwise carrying out the provisions of this Article. These policies and guidelines shall include the following:

(1)       Schools shall devote no more than two days of instructional time per year to the taking of practice tests that do not have the primary purpose of assessing current student learning;

(2)       Students in a school shall not be subject to field tests or national tests during the two‑week period preceding the administration of end‑of‑grade tests, end‑of‑course tests, or the school's regularly scheduled final exams; and

(3)       No school shall participate in more than two field tests at any one grade level during a school year unless that school volunteers, through a vote of its school improvement team, to participate in an expanded number of field tests.

These policies shall reflect standard testing practices to insure reliability and validity of the sample testing. The results of the field tests shall be used in the final design of each test. The State Board of Education's policies regarding the testing of children with disabilities shall (i) provide broad accommodations and alternate methods of assessment that are consistent with a child's individualized education program and section 504 (29 U.S.C. § 794) plans, (ii) prohibit the use of statewide tests as the sole determinant of decisions about a child's graduation or promotion, and (iii) provide parents with information about the Statewide Testing Program and options for students with disabilities. The State Board shall report its proposed policies and proposed changes in policies to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee prior to adoption.

The State Board of Education may appoint an Advisory Council on Testing to assist in carrying out its responsibilities under this Article.

(b)       The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be responsible, under policies adopted by the State Board of Education, for the statewide administration of the testing program provided by this Article.

(b1)     The Superintendent shall notify local boards of education by October 1 of each year of any field tests that will be administered in their schools during the school year, the schools at which the field tests will be administered, and the specific field tests that will be administered at each school.

(c)       Local boards of education shall cooperate with the State Board of Education in implementing the provisions of this Article, including the regulations and policies established by the State Board of Education. Local school administrative units shall use the annual and competency testing programs to fulfill the purposes set out in this Article. Local school administrative units are encouraged to continue to develop local testing programs designed to diagnose student needs further. (1977, c. 522, ss. 4‑6; c. 541, ss. 2, 5‑7; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 1014, s. 74(a); 1995, c. 524, s. 4; 2001‑424, s. 28.17(f); 2002‑126, s. 7.30; 2002‑159, s. 70; 2005‑276, s. 7.37.)