Race to the Top
Progress Update - On-site Review
Part B: In preparation for the on-site program review and Secretary stocktake, States must update
applicable questions (i.e., those for which there is new information) and provide appropriate
documentation to substantiate its responses for all relevant application sub-criterion (e.g. (A)(2) and
(D)(4)). 1
Application sub-criterion: (B)(3): Supporting the transition to enhance standards and highquality assessments
STATE’s goals for this sub-criterion:
North Carolina will work in partnership with its LEAs to:
 Build and reinforce educator and stakeholder support of the new standards and belief
that the new standards will improve student outcomes.
o Develop and publish a communication schedule that identifies opportunities to
build knowledge among teachers, staff, and administrators.
 Ensure educator mastery of the standards and provide educators with the necessary
tools to translate that knowledge into student outcomes.
o Identify, evaluate, and (as needed) develop professional development on the
new standard course of study and related assessment.
o Develop and disseminate instructional resources to help educators develop a
deep understanding of the new standards in an effort to increase student
outcomes.
 As part of instituting a comprehensive assessment approach, ensure that stakeholders
understand and use summative tests and summative test data effectively and
appropriately.
 Support meaningful use of test data and help educators and students transition to
using online testing.
o Develop and publish an online assessment Best Practices Guide.
 Align high school exit criteria and college entrance requirements to the standards.
Relevant projects: Transition to New Standards and Assessments
1. Is the State on-track to implement the activities and meet the goals and performance
measures that are included in its approved scope of work for this sub-criterion? If so,
explain why. If not, explain why not.
The State continues to address the goals and performance measures listed above and in its
Race to the Top application. An update on the projects for B3 appears below.
1
Note that States will only be required to submit documentation for the on-site program review, not for monthly calls. States
should work with their Program Officers to determine relevant state-specific documentation.
NCDPI/ RttT PMO
Page 1 of 3
1/3/2014
Development/Provision of Resources & Tools
The State continues to move forward in the development and provision of resources and tools
to support educators in implementing new standards and assessments. These instructional
resources are now available in two locations for teachers to access and use: NCDPI continues
to post and update materials on the online wiki space for Common Core State Standards and
the NC Essential Standards
(http://wikicentral.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/NCDPI+WikiCentral+Page), and these resources are
also now available through Home Base, the department’s online integrated instructional
improvement and student information system.
The Curriculum and Instruction Division at the Department continues to assist in review of
third party resources for inclusion in Home Base. As of December 2013, North Carolina
educators have access to 9,332 instructional resources and 33,000 assessment items through
Home Base; of these resources, 3,475 instructional and 19,675 assessment items are in math
or ELA and aligned to the Common Core standards.
Training and Support
In addition to creating resources and tools, NCDPI continues to offer training and support to
help districts and schools understand and implement the NC Standard Course of Study
(SCOS; the Common Core State Standards and the North Carolina Essential Standards) and
build local capacity to understand the new standards and assessments so that LEAs can lead
their own trainings on these topics. This NCDPI training include webinars and regional faceto-face sessions to reinforce the transition to the new SCOS, specialized training on
implementing the new math courses (Math I, II, and III), training and outreach regarding the
Smarter Balanced assessments, and webinars on instruction for advanced learners.
2. Does the State have evidence indicating the quality of implementation for this subcriterion? What is/has the State doing/done as a result of this information?
To determine the quality of the trainings and resources provided by staff members from the
Curriculum and Instruction Division, NCDPI has collected anecdotal feedback from
participants in webinars, trainings, or workshops on the new standards and assessments. The
Professional Development (PD) Leads also share information from the fidelity checks,
conducted as a part of the Professional Development Initiative (PDI), regarding LEA needs
for training related to standards and assessment. Student performance on the end of year
assessments provided feedback regarding the success of first year implementation.
The collected feedback indicates that while the training delivered through the Summer
Institutes and RESAs has been beneficial, NCDPI needs to conduct additional work directly
with teachers on the standards. Teachers have asked for more professional development on
how to implement the standards. NCDPI has also received feedback from the field that more
assistance is needed in understanding the results from the state assessments and how to use
the data for instructional planning around the SCOS. This information is informing training
that staff from Curriculum and Instruction will provide for classroom teachers in the spring
and summer of 2014 to deepen classroom teachers’ understanding of the standards. NCDPI is
also following up with webinar and face-to-face support related to understanding and using
NCDPI/ RttT PMO
Page 2 of 3
1/3/2014
the information from the Goal Summary assessment reports. These are course-specific
reports that summarize student performance for each learning goal or essential standard
tested on End-of-Grade (EOG) and End-of-Course (EOC) assessments to provide teachers
with summary assessment data and trend data that can help the teachers examine potential
strengths and weaknesses in their units of instruction and/or instructional programs that are
aligned to the standards.
NCDPI will conduct an online survey in January to collect from teachers information about
use of the SCOS in their classrooms, their opinions about the training and support they are
receiving, their feelings about the availability of resources to support their teaching, and
comments about how they can be better supported.
3. What obstacles and/or risks could impact the State’s ability to meet its goals and
performance measures related to this sub-criterion?
The State is meeting stated goals and achieving high-quality implementation. The work of
the Department in providing high quality resources and in training educators to implement
best practices continues.
As in other states, North Carolina is experiencing some public resistance and concern over
the Common Core. This is a potential risk to the implementation of the CCSS and also to
Smarter Balanced assessments moving forward. NCDPI is working to provide accurate,
current information to the State Board of Education, the NC General Assembly, and other
stakeholders about the implementation of the CCCSS, the Standard Course of Study, and
Smarter Balanced as the state moves forward with these initiatives.
Evaluation: Based on the responses to the previous question, evaluate the State’s
performance and progress to date for this sub-criterion (choose one)
Red (1)
Orange (2)
Yellow (3)
Green (4)2
2
Red – substantially off-track and/or has significant quality concerns; urgent and decisive action is required; Orange –off-track
and/or there are quality concerns; many aspects require significant attention; Yellow –generally on-track and of high or good
quality; only a few aspects require additional attention; Green – on-track with high quality.
NCDPI/ RttT PMO
Page 3 of 3
1/3/2014