This document provides information on student performance at the state, regional, and school system levels on end-of-grade multiple choice tests for grades 3 through 8 in reading and mathematics and the end-of-course multiple choice tests administered in high school subjects in 1996-97 as part of the North Carolina Testing Program. The figures and tables in this document were generated using student test data from the end-of-grade spring 1997 test administration and the end-of-course summer 1996, fall 1996, and spring 1997 tests. In some cases, data are reported across years to permit comparisons. The state and system-level results in this report may be used to make grade-to-grade, subject-to-subject, and year-to-year comparisons. Comparisons can also be made of developmental scale scores of cohort groups as they move through elementary school. In addition to the summary statistics, this report contains disaggregated test results for subgroups for end-of-grade and end-of-course tests. These data provide an overall perspective on student performance in North Carolina for the state and its 117 public school systems. The end-of-grade tests were administered to more than 546,000 students in grades 3 through 8 in the 1996-97 school year; and more than 402,000 end-of-course tests were administered in various subjects. In grades 3 through 8, student performance in reading and mathematics continued to improve, with students continuing to achieve at a higher rate than anticipated from initial results in 1992-93. Improvement in performance on the end-of-course tests is consistent with improvements seen on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Although North Carolina schools continue to improve in preparing students, there are still wide discrepancies in performance among groups of students and school systems, as the tables of regional and district performance indicate. Sample questions and directions are included for the end-of-grade tests and for the end-of-course tests in algebra I; biology; economic, legal, and political systems; English I; and U.S. history. (Contains 30 figures and 85 tables.) (SLD)