Monday, March 2 is going to be a different kind of day in public schools throughout New Jersey. That’s the first day the long-awaited, and highly-controversial, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career test will be administered.
PARCC, as it’s better known, is the newest version of the annual standardized test that students have been taking for years. There have always been debates as to whether standardized tests do any good, or whether the results provide any useful information.
But the fact is that standardized testing has been around for decades, and PARCC is just the newest version.
Sure, this version is taken entirely on a computer, not with a pen and Scantron, leaving many concerned about whether students can perform well. Today’s students grew up with this technology, though, so they should have no issue adjusting to taking a test on a computer; it may even be easier for them.
Sure, this version only measures performance in math and English, leaving many concerned that it is taking away instructional time in other subjects. The SAT has been testing in only those two subjects for years, though, and no one seems to have a problem with that.
It’s not just parents who have a problem with PARCC. The New Jersey Education Association launched online and TV ads last week that, in one spot, asked emphatically: “what are we doing to our kids?”
Well, “we” are testing them, just like “we” have tested them in the past.
Contrary to how this might read, we are not in favor of PARCC, or standardized testing in general. We agree that there has to be a better way to judge students, and teachers, than a national standardized test. But encouraging students to not take the test sends the wrong message, and teaches the wrong lesson. We shouldn’t be teaching our students that it’s OK to avoid taking a test because you don’t agree with it. Should they also say no to homework, because they don’t agree that it properly assesses their learning? Should they not take a final exam in college because it’s taken on a computer?
Voicing opinions and concerns and standing up for what you believe in are good lessons to teach. But attacking the schools, which have no choice in administering the test, and teaching students that it’s OK to refuse to take the test are not the way to approach the issue. Sometimes in life, we have to do what we don’t want to do and don’t agree with doing.
Take the fight to the legislators who approved the testing. Lobby them to change the rules.
While passing PARCC isn’t a requirement to graduate high school now, it will be starting with the class of 2019. And what will you do then — prevent students from graduating because they refused to take a test?
