The State Board of Education, State Superintendent and others who are responsible for setting policy for public schools believe that students will rise to higher expectations. They also believe that it is unfair to promote a student to the next level of school without the skills that he or she needs to be successful. Further, they know that students who are not achieving at acceptable levels in reading and mathematics will have problems achieving in other courses. Some local school systems have added standards for additional grades. Implementation of the higher standards is resulting in changes as teachers and administrators look closer than ever before at each individual student's achievement.
Parents can expect to see some differences in their schools as a result of the standards.
If your child is achieving below grade level, extra efforts will be made to help your child learn the skills needed to reach proficiency. The North Carolina General Assembly is providing funds to local school systems to help them intervene when students need help. For those whose children already are on grade level or above, the school will be encouraging your child to achieve at an even higher level. Testing results on reading and mathematics are the basis for the standard, even though other subjects are important and are required in the state's curriculum. Reading and mathematics are considered core subjects on which other learning is based.