Moving from the What to the How - Assessing the Common Core State Standards

Oct 3, 2026

Presentation outlines the assessment shift required by the Common Core State Standards, framing the challenge as moving from current practice (“here”) to college- and career-readiness outcomes (“to here”). It describes North Carolina’s new assessment system across formative, interim (benchmark), and summative phases, including ELA, mathematics, and science structures and testing timelines. The talk details delivery formats (online and paper/pencil), content prioritization, and item types such as technology-enhanced, gridded response, calculator-inactive, short constructed response, and multiple-choice variations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

The Assessment Challenge

NC’s New Assessment System

Formative

Interim

Summative

Summative Assessments

English Language Arts

Mathematics

Science

Time Line

Delivery Formats

Prioritization of Content Standards

Item Types

NC Assessment Specifications

Moving from the What to the How Assessing the Common Core State Standards November 7, 2011 Presentation to North Carolina Common Core State Standards Summit Angela Hinson Quick, Deputy Chief Academic Officer Academic Services and Instructional Support North Carolina Department of Public Instruction 1 Draft-July 13, 2011 1 The Assessment Challenge How do we get from here... ...to here? Common Core State Standards specify K-12 expectations for college and career readiness All students leave high school college and career ready ...and what can an assessment system do to help? NC’s New Assessment System • Formative – NC FALCON • Interim – Benchmark assessments (State or SBAC in 2014) – District • Summative (State or SBAC in 2014) – End-of-year – Standardized Summative Assessments • English Language Arts – Common Core State Standards (June 2010, SBE) – Grades 3-8 and English II • Mathematics – Common Core State Standards (June 2010, SBE) – Grades 3-8 and Algebra I/Integrated I • Science (February 2009, SBE) – Essential Standards – Grades 5, 8 and Biology Time Line • 2011-12 Field Tests – General – NCEXTEND2 – NCEXTEND1 • 2012-13 Operational Assessments – Performance standards set AFTER tests administered – Results delayed until early fall Delivery Formats • Online (Paper/Pencil version) – All NCEXTEND2 (EOG and EOC) – Science Grades 5 and 8 – English II EOC – Biology EOC – Algebra I EOC • Paper/Pencil (Online version) – General ELA and Mathematics Grades 3-8 – NCEXTEND1 Prioritization of Content Standards • Two-Step Process – Step 1:Teachers convened to provide input • Relative importance of each standard • Anticipated instructional time • Appropriateness for multiple-choice format – Step 2: Curriculum and Test Development staff at DPI review input and develop weight distributions across the domains for each grade level Item Types • Online – Technology Enhanced Items • Both Online and Paper/Pencil – Mathematics: gridded response items • Grades 5-8 and Algebra I/Integrated I – Calculator Inactive: Grades 3-8 and Algebra II/ Integrated I – One-third to one-half of grades 3-8 – One-third of Algebra I – English II: short constructed response – General: Four-response multiple-choice items – NCEXTEND2: Three-response multiple-choice items NC Assessment Specifications [http://dpi.state.nc.us/acre/assessment/online/](http://dpi.state.nc.us/acre/assessment/online/)

FAQs

What is the core assessment challenge addressed in the presentation?

It asks how to move from the current state (“here”) to the Common Core outcomes (“to here”), ensuring all students leave high school college and career ready. It also considers how an assessment system can support that shift.

What assessment types are included in NC’s new assessment system?

The presentation covers formative, interim, and summative assessments. Interim includes benchmark assessments, while summative covers end-of-year state or SBAC-based assessments.

How are tests delivered and what online vs paper/pencil formats are used?

Delivery formats include online (with paper/pencil versions noted for some programs) and paper/pencil formats. The talk assigns different grade levels and subjects to NCEXTEND2 and NCEXTEND1 under these delivery options.

Oct 3, 2026

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