By Abbey Frail, News Editor
“I don’t like them,” sophomore Mikayla Dell’Aquila said.
“They give me anxiety issues,” sophomore Gracie Chaves added.
“They are the worst thing ever,” sophomore Mason Briggs offered.
What horrible thing could these students be talking about other than Common Exams? This year, these dreaded tests will be going by a different name: NC Finals. The only thing different about the NC Finals — the tests themselves — as opposed to the Common Exams is that many classes that didn’t have a Common Exam last year will have an NC Final this year. And many other classes that did have Common Exams last year now have constructed responses, as is the case with chemistry.
The NC Finals taken at the end of this semester and the spring semester count as exam grades, and a major point of these exams is to evaluate the teacher’s performance.
This is a relatively new point to the final exam, but other than teacher ratings and the name change, most other exam week rules still apply. Classes that do not have an NC Final have either an End-of-Course test (such as English 2, Math 1 and Biology), a VOCAT (for classes such as Business or Teen Living) or a teacher-made exam. RJR teachers who are allowed to give their own exam may choose to assign a special project or other form of assessment this year.
One perk to NC Finals for students in Pre-Calculus, Advanced Functions and Modeling, or Discrete Math is that a formula sheet will be provided for the test. This sheet includes seven different formulas, such as the law of sines and cosines, that students may find useful on the test.
Other changes in the administration of the exams will be seen when the first testing sessions begin Monday (Jan. 13). Roving proctors will be used to assist test administrators, meaning one adult can cover three different classrooms in shifts. In the past, classrooms had to have two adults in them at all times. The NC Finals and End-of-Course exams will now count 20 percent of each student’s final grade rather than 25 percent.
And in a big boost for many students, the boredom of waiting for a testing session to end can now be alleviated. When students finish an NC Final or EOC, they can turn in all of their testing materials and then get out any non-textbook reading material to pass the time. This includes magazines, newspapers and novels, but not electronic readers: As always, electronic devices such as cell phones are prohibited during testing, and in most classrooms will be collected and kept by the test administrator.
“I think it’s cool because it gets really boring when you’re just sitting and staring at the wall,” junior Sierra Smith said.
One upgrade that teachers will enjoy this year is that these exams will not be graded by the teachers themselves. Last year’s exam weeks included marathon grading sessions, with the teachers locked in the media center to score all the constructed responses. This year, they will be sent off for other people to grade.
“We only have to pack them up and ship them out,” Latin teacher Paul Hill said.
Any other information students need about the NC Final Exams – including past versions of the tests for studying purposes – can be found at http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/accountability/common-exams/.
