Despite “grave concerns” from Governor Chris Christie, hundreds of worried parents, and new legislation at the state level, PARCC testing is set to begin as scheduled on Monday, March 2, less than two weeks from now.
Christie, originally a supporter of Common Core and its related standardized testing component, PARCC (the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers), told a group of citizens in Iowa last week that he now has “grave concerns” about both the Common Core standards and the PARCC testing.
“In New Jersey,” Christie told Iowans, “I appointed a commission a few months ago to look at it and they’re going to come back to me with a report in the next I think six or eight weeks. Then we’re going to take some action.”
The study commission created by Christie last summer continues to meet, listening to testimony from parents, educators, and others.
Meanwhile, the state Assembly education committee has developed two recent anti-PARCC bills, which in theory will address the concerns many parents, teachers, and students have expressed regarding the PARCC. The first, A4190, would prohibit the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) from using the PARCC test to evaluate students or determine a student’s placement, or as a graduation requirement, for three years, beginning in the 2015-16 school year.
This bill was passed by the committee and will be sent to the Assembly. However, even if this bill is passed and signed into law by Gov. Christie, it will not go into effect until the next school year.
The second bill, A4165, addresses an even bigger concern — the ability to legally “opt out” of taking the PARCC exam. However, this bill will likely have even less of an impact in the short-term because this bill is only being “discussed” at the moment, and has not yet been voted upon by the committee. One of the issues with the “opt out” bill is that under the federal No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top policies, 95 percent of students must take the PARCC tests or the state would risk losing the millions in education funding it receives from the federal government.
What does all of this political posturing mean for students in the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district? As of now, nothing. The first installment of the PARCC exam, which will begin on March 2 and end on March 27, will go forward as scheduled. District students will receive their individual PARCC schedules this week (if they haven’t already). The district administration, through a series of presentations, has been offering information about the PARCC to parents, just as the teachers have been offering practice tests and other educational guidance to students. But parents are still concerned.
At a district-wide PARCC presentation held on February 5 and attended by nearly 700 parents, Assistant Superintendent Martin Smith attempted to reassure parents about the low impact the PARCC exam will have this year. Smith emphasized that every effort has been made by school administrators to limit the impact on instructional time taken up by the PARCC testing, and further that this year’s PARCC test results will not be used for placement, assessment, or any other purpose relating to the students, and really it is being administered to “test the test.”
Despite these reassurances, WW-P parents — like parents state and even nation-wide — have questioned whether an “opt-out” provision exists.
There is no legal ability, at the present time, to “opt out” of the PARCC exam. As Smith noted at the PARCC presentation, the administration is legally required to administer the PARCC exam to district students. However, the WW-P district, like many in the state, has provided information on what parents can do if they wish to avoid having their children take the PARCC exam.
Parents may “refuse” to have their children take the test by sending a note to their school principal. Students whose parents have “refused” the test will sit in the same testing room as their peers, sign into the computer, but will not be required to begin the test. Instead, they may read a book during the testing period. The student will be marked “absent” for PARCC testing purposes but not for school attendance purposes.
The student will then be required to go to the PARCC make-up lab session, sign in and then return to his or her regular classroom. There will be no negative repercussions for children whose parents “refuse” the test; however, if a child causes a disruption during the testing period, he or she will be subjected to discipline, just as any child taking the test would be.
Alternatively, parents may choose to keep their children home from school during their children’s scheduled test time. Again, the students would then have to attend the make-up session, but would not be required to stay at the testing site if they are not actually taking the test. Their attendance would be recorded as it would be for any late arrival or absence during the school day.
Students whose parents’ “refuse” the PARCC exam, or who choose to be absent for the exam will suffer no adverse consequences, the district has emphasized.
