VOTE: Should the PARCC tests replace midterms and finals?
Adding to the misery that some parents already feel about the implementation of the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) test is the policy some districts are already considering – or in some cases – have already put in place.
Allowing PARCC to replace locally designed midterm exams and finals.
As it stands, according to many teachers, preparation for PARCC takes up too much valuable learning time.
“All of the sudden we have injected more testing into the high school schedule.
We have a lot of PARCC when we used to have a little bit of HSPA.”
HSPA, the High School Proficiency Assessment, was the test given to New Jersey high school students, administered only once; and given to 11th graders.
Others like John Mucciolo, Superintendent of Glen Ridge School District say that if midterms and finals are eliminated, it’s possible that students wouldn’t have to cram as many may now be doing.
PARCC has other supporters too, like Maureen Connolly, an assistant professor of education at The College of New Jersey who feels that reducing test anxiety caused by midterms and finals will be beneficial for students – as well as the assumption that PARCC will better assess what skills students will need after graduation.
“Do you do something that is assessing what you have been doing for the past four months in your job?” Connolly said. “What would be the equivalent of (a midterm) in life outside of school?”
In addition, PARCC has the support of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association which believes more schools will consider changes to midterms and finals in the wake of the PARCC exams.
Spokesperson Dan Higgins said that school leaders should have meaningful conversations with parents and community members to work out the best local approach, he added.
Bottom line: is PARCC benefiting the students?
Is a standardized test given twice a year between grades 3-11 more beneficial than locally designed midterms and finals?
Nowhere in the discussion is it mentioned that the company administering the test, Pearson LLC, has allegedly been accused of questionable business practices.
And little consideration has been given to the fact that test results won’t be readily available until about a year has passed.
Should our children be guinea pigs to this new system of testing – and our tax dollars be swallowed up in what could become a major boondoggle?
Standardized testing given twice a year over an 8 year period, a company accused of questionable business practices administering the test. Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.
The battle lines have been drawn.
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