Lawmakers look to ditch End of Course tests in NC high schools

North Carolina high schools would phase out End of Course tests and use the national ACT or SAT test instead under a bill that moved forward Tuesday at the legislature.

House bill 486 would get rid of the EOCs starting with the 2023-24 school year.

Between now and then, the state would decide how to replace the tests, starting by hiring a contractor to compare the national standardized tests to the state's curriculum.

Eventually, the EOCs in math, English and biology would go away, and student scores from the subject-specific sections of the national ACT or SAT would be used to satisfy state and federal testing requirements.

The bill also contemplates an end to the system's WorkKeys tests, which students in career and technical education take. They'd also be replaced by the 2023-24 school year with as-yet-unspecified credentials.

Those credentials would reflect the more specific training employers want from students moving from high school into the work force, Rep. Jeffrey Elmore, R-Wilkes, the bill's sponsor, said Tuesday.

Elmore is a teacher.

The WorkKeys part of the bill has opposition from ACT Inc., a testing company that not only makes the ACT but the WorkKeys tests. The company's lobbyist spoke against the measure Tuesday in committee.

The bill moved forward but has several more stops before it can become law.

April 28 update: This bill cleared the House today 77-39. It moves to the Senate for more debate.