Writer: “PARCC is under fire.”
PARCC is under fire. Sacramento, Calif., has a bill in front of it to eradicate the test as an exit exam, A830. But, in New Jersey, opponents of PARCC tests and Democratic lawmakers were urging state Sen. Sweeney to allow a vote on a Senate resolution aimed at stopping the controversial testing regime.
PARCC is not a basic skills test, and only 41 percent of New Jersey high school seniors were able to pass both PARCC English language arts and math.
Stan Karp of the Education Law Center notes research that suggests states with tough exit exams saw increased incarceration rates among kids and showed no real correlation between the exams and kids scoring better careers.
“We can now have thousands of students who pass all their credits and meet all their requirements, who meet the attendance and service requirements not graduate from high school,” Karp said.
The PARCC graduation requirement, delayed until 2021, with state Board of Education regulations would require students to pass the PARCC English language arts portion in the 10th grade, and the algebra side of the test would be taken in the year the student took the course. An April 20 letter from Sweeney and Teresa Ruiz notes the state Board of Education’s revised regulation is inconsistent with, and violates the intent of, the legislature. But, Sweeney won’t allow for a vote on a concurring resolution in the Senate.
Passing the resolution would give the state board 30 days to change or withdraw its regulations. The legislature could adopt a second resolution invalidating PARCC as a graduation exam. I ask — Sweeney, why the hold up? Stop the testing abuse with an invalid test.
Jack Scheidell
