As the first round of PARCC testing dates draw near, parents, armed with their questions and concerns, have been turning out in droves for information sessions about the new standardized test.
The WW-P district has partnered with parent-teacher associations (PTA/PTSA) and Community Education’s Parent University to offer presentations with general and district-specific information on the test.
Between 150 to 200 parents attended the elementary school presentation offered by the Village School PTA, and more than 400 attended the middle school event, sponsored by the Community and Grover middle school PTSAs. An additional 250 to 300 parents attended a presentation at High School South.
Martin Smith, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, gave a PowerPoint presentation and answered questions at each session. The full presentation is available online at www.ww-p.org.
PARCC — the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers — is a computerized test of math and English language arts/literacy based on the Common Core standards. The PARCC replaces the NJASK, which had been taken by students in grades three through eight, and the HSPA, administered to high school juniors.
There are significant differences between the tests. The PARCC has two segments, Smith explained, both administered entirely online. The Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) consists of long-answer questions, and the End-of-Year (EOY) component has short-answer questions.
“The PBA portion requires five sessions — two math and three language arts — and the EOY portion requires four exam sessions — two each in math, and language arts — for grades 6 to 11, and three exam sessions for grades 3 to 5 — two math and one language arts,” Smith explained.
Unlike the NJASK, these portions are not all given during one block of time. The PBA will be administered in March; the EOY will be administered in May.
Smith explained the testing schedule: “From March 2 through March 27, the PBA portion of the PARCC assessment will be administered to all students in grades 3 through 11; and the EOY will be administered to all students in grades 3 through 8 from April 27 to May 22. Students in grades 9 through 11 will begin the EOY on April 20.” Students will receive a single score report in early autumn.
Christine Capaci, director of data, assessment, and accountability for the district, clarified the testing dates in a memo sent to parents. “Testing will not be given on all of these dates; this is just the timeframe for the entire district. Each school building has designed a detailed schedule indicating specific dates and times for students to take the PARCC test, and a schedule will be sent to you at a later date and will include classroom testing and make-up dates.”
Smith presented charts comparing testing time for PARCC with NJASK and HSPA. For example, fifth graders will be tested for a total of eight days, 60 to 90 minutes a day, or 480 to 720 total minutes. Under NJASK fifth graders were tested for four straight days, 113 minutes per day, or a total of 452 total minutes.
The amount of testing now required for high schoolers is even more significant: eleventh graders will now be required to take nine days of testing, at 60 to 90 minutes per day; whereas the HSPA was administered over three days, for 123 minutes per day. Ninth and tenth grade students will undergo nine days of testing, at 60 to 90 minutes a day; previously they were not required to take any state standardized testing.
There will be no opt-out provision for the district. “The district is obligated by state regulations to administer the PARCC exam to all students,” Smith said. “The district’s attendance policies and regulations will continue to be followed during this time.”
However, he emphasized that the district does not use any standardized assessments for student placement, and that a student is not required to retake an assessment or retake any course based on his or her PARCC scores. Passing the PARCC test is not a graduation requirement for eleventh graders. But, Smith said, PARCC test results will be used as part of teacher evaluations.
Through its Parent University program, the district will be offering another PARCC presentation on Thursday, February 5, at High School North at 7 p.m. Registration is required for this free program; click online registration under the Community Education tab at www.west-windsor-plainsboro.k12.nj.us/departments/Community_Education .
District parents are by no means the only ones concerned about the implementation of PARCC testing; the teachers are concerned as well, particularly those teachers who are also parents of school-aged children, according to Bruce Salmestrelli, a high school social studies teacher and president of the WW-P Education Association (WWPEA), the organization representing the district teachers.
While the WWPEA has no official position on PARCC testing, WWPEA has hosted two programs, a showing of “Standardized,” a movie written and directed by teachers about the impact of high-stakes testing on students and their concerns; and a “Take the PARCC” event at Mercer County College, which offered parents, teachers, administrators, and others the opportunity to take a sample PARCC test under testing conditions. Salmestrelli estimated that 100 people took the test, and 200 attended the showing of “Standardized.”
WWPEA may offer a follow-up program after the first portion of the PARCC is administered in March, and in the meantime is encouraging its parent-members to provide public testimony to the commission tasked with studying the effects of the PARCC implementation (see sidebar above).
Salmestrelli, speaking in his personal capacity, explained that the WWPEA offered these programs “to raise questions and share concerns about headlong rush into high-stakes testing. These tests are taking more and more instruction time, and we are wondering how they help to improve student learning. As teachers, we don’t even see the results of these tests, so what is the educational benefit?”
“What was interesting were the reactions of those who took the PARCC test,” he said. “Most people were shocked at the complexity of the test at the younger grades; at the middle level, there were questions about the educational appropriateness of the selected passage for middle schoolers.
“At the high school level,” he added, “there were concerns about using the same text excerpts in complex interrelationships throughout the test. Our students do this all the time, but not under the time constraints of the PARCC testing. Many also questioned cost to district — not the cost of purchasing computers, but the costs of infrastructure improvements, which are hidden costs.”
“I personally have difficulty supporting the administration of these tests when the state Department of Education is only sharing information in dribs and drabs. This makes me sympathetic to all district administrators across the state. How can they prepare their districts for the PARCC’s implementation when the manual is only sent out on December 23?”
