North Carolina English II End-of-Course (EOC): complete guide to the reading-only test, the multiple-choice and technology-enhanced items, the short constructed-response items, the NCSCOS reading standards, and the five achievement levels

The North Carolina English II End-of-Course (EOC) test is the state's high school English exam, administered by the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI). It measures reading proficiency on the NC Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS) for English Language Arts at the English II level. The exam is reading-focused: you read previously unseen literary and informational passages and answer questions about them, with vocabulary and language tested in the context of those passages. This page is the index for our NC English II content: a map of the reading skills the test rewards, the item types, the blueprint, the constructed-response items, the achievement levels, and how to study, with links to every dot point.

The test at a glance

The English II EOC is built on reading. It is given online through NCTest, NCDPI's online testing platform, with paper-and-pencil only for approved accommodations.

• What it assesses. Reading proficiency on the NCSCOS for English Language Arts. The full ELA standards cover reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language, but the EOC assesses only the reading standards (Language is tested in the context of reading).
• Reporting categories and weights. Reading for Literature (about 35 to 39 percent), Reading for Informational Text (about 42 to 46 percent), and Language (about 9 to 13 percent), per the NCDPI test specifications. Informational reading is the largest category.
• Selections and items. The operational test has 6 reading selections (passages) and 51 operational items, with a field-test selection and items embedded that do not count toward your score.
• Item types. Four-option multiple-choice items and technology-enhanced items, each worth 1 point, plus short constructed-response items worth 2 points each. The specifications describe four constructed-response items, of which three are operational and one is an embedded field test.
• Texts. Previously unseen literary passages (fiction, drama, poetry, literary nonfiction) and informational or argumentative passages, some paired so you can compare them.

Scores are reported in five achievement levels using NCDPI's cut scores for that administration.

Reading literary texts

The test presents unseen literary passages and asks you to analyze them: theme and central idea, plot and structure, character and point of view, the craft of fiction and poetry, word choice, and figurative language. The reliable approach is to read actively, then answer with the text in front of you, returning to the lines a question points to.

• Analyzing theme in literary texts
• Plot, conflict, and structure
• Character and point of view
• Figurative language and literary devices
• Analyzing word choice and tone
• Reading poetry and drama

Reading informational texts

Informational reading is the largest category on the test. Passages ask you to analyze central ideas, the structure and organization of a text, an author's purpose and perspective, evidence and inference, paired texts, and information carried in graphics and text features.

• Central ideas in informational texts
• Text structure and organization
• Author's purpose and perspective
• Text evidence and inference
• Comparing paired texts
• Analyzing graphics and text features

Language and vocabulary

The Language strand is tested in context: the meaning of a word in a passage, word parts, connotation and nuance, figurative meaning, and the conventions of standard English as they affect meaning. These skills also strengthen your constructed-response writing.

• Vocabulary in context
• Word parts: roots and affixes
• Denotation, connotation, and nuance
• Figurative and connotative meaning
• Standard English conventions

Analyzing argument and author's craft

Informational and argumentative passages ask you to delineate an argument, weigh its reasoning and evidence, recognize rhetorical appeals and techniques, analyze an author's craft, and spot bias and counterclaims. These higher-order skills appear in multiple-choice, technology-enhanced, and constructed-response items.

• Delineating an argument and its claims
• Evaluating reasoning and evidence
• Rhetorical appeals and techniques
• Analyzing the author's craft
• Bias, perspective, and counterclaims

Constructed-response writing

The constructed responses are the only writing on the test: short, text-based answers worth 2 points each, usually a paragraph or less, with a 1,000-character limit online. You make a clear point, support it with specific evidence from the passage, and explain how the evidence proves the point.

• Understanding the constructed response
• Answering with text evidence
• The two-point scoring rubric
• Writing a clear paragraph answer
• Common constructed-response tasks

Exam strategy

Knowing the format, the item types, the blueprint, NCTest, the achievement levels, and the pacing is its own skill. These pages cover how to navigate the test and budget your time.

• The test format and blueprint
• Multiple-choice and technology-enhanced items
• Pacing the NCTest session
• Achievement levels and proficiency
• Reading strategies for unseen texts

The standards behind the test

The English II EOC is built on the NC Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS) for English Language Arts, adopted by the State Board of Education in June 2017. The reading standards are organized under four headings: Key Ideas and Details (read closely, determine central ideas and themes, analyze how individuals and ideas develop), Craft and Structure (interpret word choice, analyze structure, assess point of view and purpose), Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (evaluate content across formats, delineate and evaluate arguments, compare texts), and Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity (read complex texts proficiently). Reading for Literature and Reading for Informational Text share these anchor standards. The EOC assesses these reading standards only; the writing, speaking and listening strands are taught in class but are not the subject of the test (the short constructed responses are reading-based).

The achievement levels

NCDPI reports English II EOC results in five achievement levels:

• Levels 1 and 2: Not Proficient. The student has not yet met grade-level expectations for the reading standards.
• Level 3: Grade-Level Proficient (GLP). The student meets grade-level expectations for the English II reading standards.
• Level 4: College-and-Career Ready (CCR). The student has a thorough command of the standards and is on track for college and a career.
• Level 5. The highest level, also counted as College-and-Career Ready.

So Level 3 and above is proficient, and Level 4 and above is College-and-Career Ready. The cut scores that separate the levels are set by NCDPI for each administration.

How the EOC counts

State Board of Education policy TEST-003 directs schools to use the results of operational EOC assessments as at least 20 percent of the student's final course grade. A district may choose to weight it more, but not less. That means the English II EOC is a graded part of the course on your transcript, not only a school-accountability measure.

How to study NC English II

1. Read unseen passages closely, because the whole test is reading. Practice on fiction, drama, poetry, and especially informational and argumentative nonfiction, since informational reading is the largest category.
2. Tie every answer to the text. State a theme or central idea as a full sentence, then point to the line that proves it; the same evidence habit wins the constructed responses.
3. Practice the item types (multiple choice, technology-enhanced, and the short constructed responses), and learn to write a 2-point answer in a tight evidence-based paragraph.
4. Analyze, do not just label. Explain the effect of a structural choice, a word choice, or a rhetorical appeal, because the standards reward analysis over recall.
5. Use NCDPI materials. Study from the released forms and the test specifications so you practice the real blueprint, item types, and timing.

For the official exam materials

NCDPI publishes the English II EOC test specifications, released forms, achievement-level information, and the NCSCOS for English Language Arts on its accountability and standards pages. See the End-of-Course (EOC) page, the EOC English II test specifications, and the English Language Arts Standard Course of Study. Always study from the current specifications and released materials, because the blueprint, item types, scoring, and achievement levels are set by NCDPI.