GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	1
HOUSE BILL 405

 
 
Short Title:	Amend Student Accountability Prog.-AB.	()	
Sponsors:	Representatives Rogers; and Preston.	
Referred to:	Education.	
March 1, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the statute regarding the state testing and student accountability program.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑105.35 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑105.35.  Annual performance goals.
The School‑Based Management and Accountability Program shall (i) focus on student performance in the basics of reading, mathematics, and communications skills in elementary and middle schools, (ii) focus on student performance in courses required for graduation and on other measures required by the State Board in the high schools, and (iii) hold schools accountable for the educational growth or gain of their students. To those ends, the State Board shall design and implement an accountability system that sets annual performance standards for each school in the State in order to measure the growth in performance of the students in each individual school."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑105.37(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The State Board of Education shall design and implement a procedure to identify low‑performing schools on an annual basis. Low‑performing schools are those in which there is a failure to meet the minimum growth or gain standards, as defined by the State Board, and a majority of students are performing below grade level."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑12(9a) and (9b) read as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑12.  Powers and duties of the Board generally.
The general supervision and administration of the free public school system shall be vested in the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall establish policy for the system of free public schools, subject to laws enacted by the General Assembly. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education are defined as follows:
…
(9a)	Power to Develop Content Standards. – The Board shall develop a comprehensive plan to revise content standards and the standard course of study in the core academic areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, geography, and civics. The Board shall involve and survey a representative sample of parents, teachers, and the public to help determine academic content standard priorities and usefulness of the content standards. A full review of available and relevant academic content standards that are rigorous, specific, sequenced, clear, focused, and measurable, whenever  possible, shall be a part of the process of the development of content standards. The revised content standards developed in the core academic areas shall (i) reflect high expectations for students and an in‑depth mastery of the content; (ii) be clearly grounded in the content of each academic area; (iii) be defined grade‑by‑grade and course‑by‑course; (iv) be understandable to parents and teachers; (v) be developed in full recognition of the time available to teach the core academic areas at each grade level; and (vi) be measurable, whenever possible, in a reliable, valid, and efficient manner for accountability purposes.
		High school course content standards shall include the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the workforce and also shall be aligned with the coursework required for admission to the constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina. The Board shall develop and implement a plan for end‑of‑course tests for those courses identified by the State Board. All end‑of‑course tests shall be aligned with the content standards.
		The Board also shall develop and implement an ongoing process to align State programs and support materials with the revised academic content standards for each core academic area every five years. Alignment shall include revising textbook criteria, support materials, State tests, teacher and school administrator preparation, and ongoing professional development programs to be compatible with content standards. The Board shall develop and make available to teachers and parents support materials, including teacher and parent guides, for academic content standards. The State Board of Education shall work in collaboration with the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina to ensure that teacher and school administrator degree programs, ongoing professional development and other university activity in the State's public schools align with the State Board's priorities.
(9b)	Power to Develop Exit Exams. – The Board shall develop a plan to implement high school exit exams, grade‑level student proficiency benchmarks, student proficiency benchmarks for courses identified by the State Board and student proficiency benchmarks for the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the workforce. The State Board may develop student proficiency benchmarks for other courses offered to secondary school students. The high school exit exams and student proficiency benchmarks shall be aligned with G.S. 115C‑12(9a) and may contain pertinent components of the school‑based accountability annual performance goals.
…."
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2001, and applies beginning with the 2001‑2002 school year.