By Sue Altman and Melissa Tomlinson
On Wednesday March 7, 2018 the New Jersey State Board of Education will hold yet another hearing about whether the state should recertify the use of the PARCC assessment in our schools. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a consortium featuring six states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Educational Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education, that together deploy a standard set of K–12 assessments in Math and English, a standard they say is based on the Common Core State Standards. The PARCC consortium was awarded Race to the Top assessment funds in September 2010 by the U.S. Department of Education to help in the development of the K–12 assessments The Education Law Center recently released a report that gives a very clear picture about the future of our graduating classes if PARCC remains the main, and soon to be only, pathway to graduation. With only 27% of the students in 2017 earning their diploma by passing PARCC at the predetermined cut-off scores, the future potential of high school graduates can be severely limited. In a state that is currently ranked as number two in the nation for it's public education system, this is alarming. We cannot allow the use of an invalid test that only offers a snapshot picture of a child's potential as as a way to determine if a student has the potential for future success. Parents, educators, and students have repeatedly stated over and over again that we reject the idea that PARCC is an effective tool. It has been proven that PARCC is not a valid research-based test and inappropriate for making educational decisions. Our children are more than a score! We are disappointed that Governor Murphy, after his campaign proclamations that declared an end to PARCC, has not yet taken the step to get PARCC out of our schools. This must be the end of PARCC and the beginning of a much needed conversation about authentic assessment and education. We call on Governor Murphy to make this decision to end PARCC for the children of our state, once and for all. We urge you to join us in attending the March 7th State Board of Education public testimony hearing at 2pm. Please show your support for the many parents and educators that will be speaking. If you cannot attend, or cannot speak in person, please submit testimony electronically to [email protected].nj.us.
2 Comments
8/3/2022 01:13:36 pm
Amazing post, thanks for sharing this article. I am truly motivated by you for blogging.
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8/3/2022 04:04:58 pm
We cannot allow the use of an invalid test that only offers a snapshot picture of a child's potential as as a way to determine if a student has the potential for future success. Thank you, amazing post!
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