Technical glitches hinder CMS state testing for the second day in a row
Problems that first arose Thursday temporarily stopped some Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students from finishing end-of-grade state testing due to “platform and/or server disruptions,” CMS told teachers.
Read more Charlotte pizzeria named Top 50 in U.S. for third year in a row
The issues began Thursday, with technical glitches that caused screens to freeze or abruptly kick students out of the system. The issues resurfaced Friday, Justin Parmenter, an English teacher at South Academy of International Languages, told The Charlotte Observer.
“Imagine being a child trying to concentrate on a long, difficult test while the broken technology is constantly disrupting their thinking,” Parmenter said.
CMS also officials sent an email to teachers Friday about the disruptions, which it shared with The Observer.
“We understand your frustration, and we are working with the highest sense of urgency to resolve the disruptions,” the message stated. “Please know this is a localized technology issue, and we will continue to partner with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) today, tonight, and throughout the weekend in an attempt to find a resolution.”
School administrators will update families on updates to the school and testing schedule, the message stated.
Students in grades 3-8 are taking end-of-grade tests across the state this week, with the exception of some districts that began the school year earlier in the fall.
State testing has been administered primarily online since the 2017-18 school year. By the 2022-23 school year, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction required all end-of-grade testing to be administered online, except for students with a documented need for accessibility accommodations.
Read more I tried the food at one of Charlotte’s oldest restaurants. What I got for $25
Each public school in the state is given a “school performance grade” on an A-F scale each year, and end-of-grade test results are the main component used to determine a school’s score.
End-of-grade assessments are meant to measure if students have mastered the grade-appropriate content laid out in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. If students do not score a passing grade on their end-of-grade assessments, that does not mean they’ll be prevented from moving on to the next grade. Test scores are just one data point that may be used in determining if a child should be held back, alongside classroom grades, teacher recommendations and attendance.
NCDPI officials told The Observer the testing problems were local, not statewide.
“CMS communicated to all principals that they could suspend testing yesterday and today if their school was experiencing problems,” NCDPI officials said Friday afternoon. “Affected schools are using the district’s contingency plan to resume testing on a later date, consistent with standard practice across North Carolina districts following a disruption.”
CMS has not yet responded to questions about how many students were impacted by the disruptions and how testing schedules would be affected.
Parmenter said the frustration – for teachers and students alike – is palpable.
“We just got done dealing with online test failures a year ago,” he said. “Maybe it’s time to go back to paper and pencil if the tools our technology partners are providing don’t work when we need them to.”
Read more Rural NC police officer filmed beating woman is suspended by police chief
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 11:54 AM.
