This brochure is intended to help teachers and parents prepare students for the North Carolina Open-Ended Assessments (in reading and mathematics) given at grades 4 and 8. The brochure states that teachers in grades 2-5 can use the information to prepare students for the open-ended assessments. This particular brochure focuses primarily on the reading portion of the assessment, which includes opportunities for students to read several passages and respond to questions across content areas. The brochure includes the following sections: "Background"; "Test Specifics"; "Reading General Rubric"; "Key Skills for Open-Ended Responses"; "Tips for Parents and Teachers"; "Test-Taking Tips for Students"; and "Questions for Critical Thinking and Response to Text." It notes that testing in grades 4 and 8 will allow North Carolina to align more with national testing as reflected in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), so that the state can know how well its students are performing relative to other students across the nation. (NKA)