EOG scoring and achievement levels (1–5)

By Eric Green · Updated May 25, 2026

NC EOG scores come in two forms: a scale score (a number, usually in the 400s or 500s) and an achievement level (a single digit from 1 to 5). The achievement level is the thing parents notice. The scale score is what determines the achievement level — and what schools use to track growth from year to year.

Both numbers are set by the North Carolina State Board of Education and reported by NCDPI. Cut scores (the scale-score boundaries between levels) are reviewed every few years.

The five achievement levels

Each EOG places a student into one of five achievement levels. Levels 1 and 2 are below grade level. Levels 3, 4, and 5 are at or above grade level.

Level 1 — Limited command

Limited command of the grade-level standards. Students at Level 1 need significant additional support. They may struggle with the same standards next year.

Level 2 — Partial command

Partial command of the standards. Students at Level 2 are below grade level but generally closer to proficient than Level 1.

Level 3 — Sufficient command (grade-level proficient)

Sufficient command of the standards — the official threshold for grade-level proficient. Students at Level 3 have the skills expected of their grade. They’re ready to move on, though they may still need support to be on track for college and career readiness.

Level 4 — Solid command (college-and-career ready)

Solid command of the standards. Level 4 is the threshold for college and career ready — meaning the student is on track to be ready for college-level work by the end of high school. This is the more rigorous standard. Many state report cards (school grades, district summaries) emphasize the Level-4-and-up rate.

Level 5 — Superior command

Superior command of the standards. Students at Level 5 have mastered the grade-level work and are well prepared for the next year.

Two different “proficient” numbers

This is the most confusing part of NC’s reporting and deserves its own paragraph:

Grade-level proficient means Level 3 or above. College-and-career readymeans Level 4 or above. Both numbers get called “proficient” in different contexts. When you see a school’s “percent proficient” figure, look at which one it’s using — the two can differ by 20+ percentage points.

At the individual-kid level, scoring Level 3 means “on grade level.” Scoring Level 4 or 5 means “on track for college.”

Scale scores

Each EOG also produces a scale score — a three-digit number like 450 or 538. Scale scores are designed so that the same score-to-level mapping holds across years and test forms even when the actual questions differ. The exact cut scores between levels are published by NCDPI each year.

Scale scores matter most when comparing year-over-year. A kid who scored 442 in 4th grade and 458 in 5th grade has measurably improved — even if both scores were in the same achievement level. Achievement level alone hides that.

Growth (EVAAS)

North Carolina also reports a growth measure for each student through EVAAS (Education Value-Added Assessment System). EVAAS looks at how much a student improved compared to similar peers, not just where they ended up. A Level 3 student who showed exceeded growth is performing better than a Level 4 student who showed did not meet growth — at least in terms of the trajectory.

EVAAS growth shows up on individual score reports and on school-level report cards. As a parent, growth is the more useful number for understanding whether your kid is making progress year over year.

What the score report actually shows

The Individual Student Report (ISR) NCDPI sends home includes:

The achievement level (1–5) for each test taken.
The scale score for each test.
A growth indicator (where data is available — usually starting in 4th grade, since growth requires a prior year of testing).
Strand-level or domain-level breakdowns — how the student performed on broad categories within a subject (e.g., “Literature,” “Informational Text,” “Language” in Reading).

What it does not show: per-question performance, or per-standard performance at the code level (e.g., how the kid did specifically on RL.5.2). For that level of diagnostic detail, you need either teacher communication or standards-aligned practice.

How scores are used

For your child: Score reports go home in late summer. Teachers use them as one input into placement and intervention decisions, but rarely as the only input.
For the school:EOG results feed the school’s performance grade (A–F) and accountability status, including identifying low-performing schools.
For 3rd grade specifically:NC’s Read to Achieve policy uses the 3rd-grade Reading EOG as one criterion for promotion decisions. Schools also use other assessments and portfolio evidence — the EOG is one piece, not the only piece.

How to read your kid’s scores

The two questions worth asking:

Where did they land — and where is that, exactly? Level 3 is on grade level; Level 4+ is on track for college readiness. Don’t over-read a Level-3-vs-Level-4 difference if the scale score is near the boundary; a few questions either way can shift the level.
How did they grow?If you have last year’s scale score, compare. If you have the EVAAS growth indicator, that’s the more reliable signal — a kid showing “exceeded growth” is making real progress even if they’re not yet at Level 4.

Sources

Achievement-level descriptors and cut scores are set by the North Carolina State Board of Education and published by NCDPI. NCDPI: Testing and School Accountability. EVAAS growth information is available via the state’s public reporting and through district score-report tools.