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NC Chamber Urges High Quality, Aligned Assessments

The selection of high quality, aligned assessments is one of the most important tasks for the future of education in our state. Tomorrow, the State Board of Education Task Force on Summative Assessment is meeting to continue its orientation on state assessment issues including the academic standards review process, summative assessment models and district required assessment.

Recognizing the critical role of assessments, the NC Chamber strongly urged the Task Force to fully align our summative assessments with the state’s rigorous education standards. Until this alignment occurs, our state will not achieve the full benefits of our standards, including workforce development and college readiness.

In a letter to the Task Force Chair and Co-Chair, we encouraged them to reform the state’s testing program to make it:

  • Aligned to North Carolina’s Career and College Ready Standards – There is no doubt the state’s current education standards are now more rigorous and higher quality.
  • Comparable across states – In order to compete for jobs, we must have the ability to show that our students compete favorably with other states.
  • Available online – The benefits of online testing are many. Online testing encourages students to develop the skills needed for college and the workforce; allows for adaptive testing; and delivers faster results for parents, students and teachers.

Ultimately, we cannot achieve our state’s education goals until we signal to businesses, higher education and educators that the principles taught in the classroom will be reflected on the end-of-year tests.

The North Carolina Chamber, through the Hire Standards, NC Coalition, will be working with business and education leaders across the state to bring consensus around assessments that meet these requirements. We will keep you updated on the latest developments around this issue.

Gary J. Salamido
Vice President, Government Affairs
North Carolina Chamber