In 2015 the Task Force on Summative Assessment recommended the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) Division of Accountability Services develop and implement a through-grade assessment that would provide teachers, students, and parents with information about student performance on grade-level content standards throughout the year and provide reliable test score data for state and federal accountability. The first phase was the development and implementation of NC Check-Ins in 2015 as a pilot to volunteer schools. Subsequently, the NC Check-Ins were available at all grades and to all public school units. With the positive feedback on NC Check-Ins and with the opportunity for an Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) from the United States Education Department, NCDPI is piloting the NCPAT system, an expanded model of through-grade assessments. The pilot is a five-year research study with the intention of implementing the NCPAT system statewide no later than the 2024–25 school year. The first step is the development and piloting of NC Check-Ins 2.0 and the flexible summative assessments. If the pilot is successful, the goal is to replace the current NC Check-Ins with NC Check-Ins 2.0. The new flexible summative will replace the existing end-of-grade (EOG) summative tests.
The NCPAT includes three interims and a flexible summative assessment aligned to North Carolina grade-level content standards for reading and mathematics. In the 2022–23 school year, schools participating in the NCPAT pilot will administer NC Check-Ins 2.0 for mathematics and reading to eligible students at grades 4, 5, 7 and 8 and the flexible summative for reading and mathematics at grades 4 and 7.
The NCPAT is currently a pilot research study. School participation in the NCPAT is voluntary and open to all public school units. Public school units (PSUs) must confirm participation by July 1, 2022, of schools to participate in the pilot for the 2022–23 school year. For the 2022–23 school year, all schools, including those not in the pilot, may voluntarily participate in the NC Check-Ins 2.0. The schools in the voluntary pilot participate in the NC Check-Ins 2.0 and the flexible summative assessment.
The NC Check-Ins 2.0 are a component of the NCPAT system and are primarily intended to serve as formative assessments. The current design purposes of the NC Check-Ins 2.0 are to
Participation in the NC Check-Ins 2.0 is voluntary. Participating schools are encouraged to consider the purposes of administering other interim or benchmark assessments for reading and mathematics to minimize duplication of effort and cumulative testing time.
NC Check-Ins will be available in the grade levels not being piloted in the 2022–23 school year. Effective with the 2023–24 school year, only NC Check-Ins 2.0 will be available for reading and mathematics in grades 3–8. Science and end-of-course (EOC) NC Check-Ins will continue to be available through the original platforms (WinScan and online). Please see the chart below.