The North Carolina End-of-Course Testing Program was established to provide student, school, and school system information about achievement in high school courses. Approximately 83.4 percent of the 77,154 students who took the biology test were in the tenth grade. Students taking biology in the ninth grade (8.3 percent) were on an accelerated track in which chemistry or physics was taken to fulfill the physical science requirement. Eight goals and 33 objectives were identified. Each objective was measured by at least seven items within each classroom. Each biology student took a test containing 66 common or core items and one of five different sets of 34 items during the final days of the school year. The average core score was 39.0 or 59.1 percent correct. On average, the 1988 biology students scored one raw score point higher than 1987 biology students. Average scores differed by parental education, ethnic group, grade level in school, and anticipated final course grade. The select group of students taking biology in the ninth grade had higher average scores than students at any other grade level. The appendix provides the performance in regions and school systems, and state percentile tables. (Author/YP)