New test results show that public school students in North Carolina are improving learning outcomes since returning to in-classroom instruction, but progress is still needed to reach pre-pandemic levels of achievement.
The 2018 ACT scores are in, and they don’t paint a pretty picture. North Carolina graduates continue to score below national averages, and the percentage of graduates meeting math and English college readiness scores are trending down. Readiness levels in math and English have been trending downward since 2014. The results are based on the...
RALEIGH — Parents are used to report cards for their school-aged kids. Now, in North Carolina, public schools themselves receive letter grades, A through F. Supporters tout a vast improvement in transparency for parents and taxpayers. Critics say the grades offer an unfair assessment of school performance. Dr. Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation director of research education studies, discussed the issue with Donna Martinez for Carolina Journal Radio.
RALEIGH — A State Board of Education task force may scrap longstanding end-of-grade tests for a system of interim assessments designed to provide more reliable and immediate data to identify students who need help in core subject areas. Board vice chairman Buddy Collins explained the work of the task force on Wednesday at a hearing before Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr.
RALEIGH — The success rate of community college students required to take remedial classes is remarkably low. In response, state community college system President Scott Ralls and system leaders are revamping how the colleges address remedial education, in part by making it easier to proceed directly to college level courses.
RALEIGH — State legislators warned the State Board of Education on Tuesday that North Carolina’s efforts to step up high school graduation requirements could cause unintended problems, from higher dropout rates, to overly stressed teachers, to increased student obesity.
RALEIGH — The Scholastic Assessment Test has been a fixture in college admissions since the 1920s. The 2005 revision of the test eliminated the familiar analogies from the verbal section and increased the difficulty of reading selections and math problems to reflect heightened college entrance expectations.
RALEIGH — University of North Carolina officials are considering a minimum admission standard for all campuses, Harold L. Martin, senior vice president for academic affairs, told a meeting of the Education Planning Committee of the Board of Governors last month. Such a standard could be proposed as early as June.
DURHAM — Several years ago, public schools in North Carolina abandoned nationally standardized testing in favor of their own state-developed tests. At the same time, however, the state mandated that nonpublic schools — private, parochial, and home schools — must use nationally standardized tests or other nationally standardized equivalent measures.
RALEIGH — Welcome to Carolina Journal Online’s Friday Interview. Today the John Locke Foundation’s Donna Martinez discusses with John Quinterno of the NC Justice Center and Michael Sanera of the John Locke Foundation a Justice Center report saying that low-income families are being left behind. The interview aired on Carolina Journal Radio (click here to find the station near you).
