Nash County Public Schools to retest students during regular test windows; principals favored in-window option

Nash County Public Schools will retest students who are not proficient on end-of-course (EOC) and end-of-grade (EOG) exams during the regular legislative testing windows rather than through an eight‑day summer remediation program, district staff told committee members.

Doctor Mudd presented the Department of Public Instruction’s two options: (1) require retesting during the standard testing windows (the last five days of a semester for semester-long courses or the last 10 days of the year for year‑long courses) or (2) permit retesting only as part of a minimum eight‑day summer program. The district’s principals preferred option 1: 88% favored testing during the state window, and 100% supported allowing students to count the higher of two scores as their exam grade.

Under the decision the district will: retest eligible students during the scheduled windows (including third grade and the re‑normed science tests added this year), permit districts to count the higher of a student’s two scores as the exam score used for the course grade, and apply a four‑day flexibility for English II where state scoring delays occur. Doctor Mudd warned the committee that compressing retests into the same testing windows will complicate exam scheduling, as the district must accommodate EOCs, EOGs, CTE and AP tests alongside retests.

Key testing windows cited by staff include Dec. 15–19 for first-semester high-school testing and May 5–18 for year-long courses in grades 3–8; comprehensive high schools have a May 11–15 window and traditional high schools May 12–18. The superintendent presented the item for information; no formal board approval was required because the district is not choosing the summer-program option.