Bill passes NC General Assembly that deletes four high school End of Course exams

Teachers and lawmakers across the state are voicing concerns over a new law that eliminates end-of-course exams in four high school courses.

The law will cut standardized tests not required for the state to receive federal funds: algebra 2, physical science, civics and economics and U.S. history.

Supporters of the law, which goes into effect July 1, hope it will take pressure off of North Carolina teachers to teach to the test, UNC School of Education Dean Bill McDiarmid said.

But some are concerned that the state needs test scores to ensure that every student receives “a sound basic education,” in accordance with the state constitution.

“Now how can we, the public, know whether or not the state is fulfilling the constitution’s obligation?” McDiarmid said. “We have to have some kind of objective measure.”

McDiarmid said the implications of the law might be different for a high-performing school district like Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

“Low-wealth districts are under a much more powerful microscope than a district like Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools,” he said.

Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, voted in favor of the bill.

“I think there are probably some real advantages to (testing),” she said.

“But this is perhaps the way to address concerns I’ve heard from parents and teachers about teaching to the test and critical thinking.”

Pablo Friedmann, a 2009 UNC alumnus and high school math teacher in Warren County, spoke against the bill earlier this month at a committee hearing at the state senate.

Friedmann teaches three math courses, including algebra 2, in a low-performing part of the state. In the 2009-10 school year, only 49 percent of students in Warren County were proficient in physical science, one of the end-of-course exams that will no longer be administered.

“General education levels are pretty low over here,” Friedmann said. “When we lose the data, we lose hope of knowing how our kids are moving along.”

But Friedmann said he did not believe the law’s implications would be as negative in Chapel Hill.

“It makes sense in Chapel Hill and Carrboro for them to want more freedom,” he said. “They’re doing well.”

Denise Bowling, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools assistant superintendent for instructional services, said the district is not opposed to the elimination of the tests.

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