AN ACT to reduce spending by eliminating statewide standardized testing in the public schools, except as required by federal law or as a condition of a federal grant.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑174.11 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑174.11.  Components of the testing program.
(a)	Assessment Instruments for First and Second Grades. – The State Board of Education shall adopt and provide to the local school administrative units developmentally appropriate individualized assessment instruments consistent with the Basic Education Program for the first and second grades, rather than standardized tests. Local school administrative units may use these assessment instruments provided to them by the State Board for first and second grade students, and shall not use standardized tests except as required as a condition of receiving federal grants.
(b)	Repealed by Session Laws 2009‑451, s. 7.20(c), effective July 1, 2009.
(c)	Annual Testing Program.
(1)	The State Board of Education shall adopt the tests for grades three through 12 that are required by federal law or as a condition of a federal grant. These tests shall be designed to measure progress toward reading, communication skills, and mathematics for grades three through eight, and toward competencies for grades nine through 12. Students who do not pass the tests adopted for eighth grade shall be provided remedial instruction in the ninth grade.
(2)	If the State Board of Education finds that additional testing in grades three through 12 is desirable to allow comparisons with national indicators of student achievement, that testing shall be conducted with the smallest size sample of students necessary to assure valid comparisons with other states.
(d)	Except as provided in subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section, the State Board of Education shall not require the public schools to administer any standardized tests except for those required by federal law or as a condition of a federal grant. 
The State Board of Education shall adopt and provide to local school administrative units all tests required by federal law or as a condition of a federal grant."
SECTION 2.  The following end‑of‑course tests are hereby eliminated:
(1)	United States History.
(2)	Civics and Economics.
(3)	Algebra II.
(4)	Physical Science.
SECTION 3.  The State Board of Education in conjunction with the Department of Public Instruction shall consider alternative assessment strategies for measuring the academic performance of students and for evaluating teachers.  The Department shall report its proposals on any such strategies to Education Committee of the House of Representatives and the Education/Higher Education Committee of the Senate by June 1, 2011.

SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2011 and applies beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 7th day of March, 2011.

	s/	 Walter H. Dalton
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Dale R. Folwell
	 Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives

This bill having been presented to the Governor for signature on the 8th day of March, 2011 and the Governor having failed to approve it within the time prescribed by law, the same is hereby declared to have become a law. This 19th day of March, 2011.

	s/	 Karen Jenkins
	 Enrolling Clerk