PARCC Test Results Paint Mixed Picture For County Schools

TRENTON – The state Board of Education released results Feb. 2 of the first year implementation of scores under the “Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers” (PARCC).
This statistical data has been eagerly awaited since the results were broken down by districts as well as by individual schools.
PARCC scores are Level 1/not yet meeting requirements; Level 2/partially meeting requirements; Level 3/approaching expectations; Level 4/meeting expectations; and Level 5/exceeding expectations.
Doesn’t Have All Answers
Most educational experts quoted in the media are saying the results raise nearly as many questions as answers. For those schools that did not do as well as they expected or even hoped spokespeople are presenting results with a variety of caveats and conditions.
Interpretation of the assessment results is complex and aimed to set higher standards than past standardized testing. The two-part test which aims at testing math from third grade up to the eighth grade level and then moves on to specific subject areas and language arts for grades 3-11.
Compared with previous state testing, a large drop in proficiency levels under PARCC has been registered. The Department of Education, at the time of the release of PARCC scores, stated over half of all the state’s students did not meet expectations for their grade levels in math and language arts.
According to expert analysis, even highest-performing districts, such as many in North Jersey registered only 70 percent of students meeting PARCC expectations while in the past a much higher percentage of students were performing at “exceeding expectations” levels.
In perennially under-performing districts, such as Camden, students scored even worse than in the past with scores in the low single digits for even “partially meeting expectations” scores.
Administration of PARCC in particular and overall standardized testing continues to grow in controversy. “Teaching to the test” is a major criticism as well as having students miss “real” classroom instruction because of hours dedicated to preparing for it, then actually taking the test and then reviewing results. 
In a tacit acknowledgement of the contentiousness of standardized testing, the state did not release specific data on students that would allow an official estimate as to how many took the test since it is recognized that many families and their children did not participate in PARCC in protest or apathy.
An informal calculation that appeared on related websites is that more than 10 percent of all students did not take the PARCC test with some schools seeing as many as 75 percent of their students not showing up for the test.
State Education Commissioner David Hespe issued a statement at the time of the release of PARCC results that “Now that we’re entering the second year of PARCC testing, educators and parents are seeing the benefits of PARCC. They see it’s the most effective assessment tool the state has ever had…”
Opponents Continue to Resist
Meanwhile on the other side of the issue is the advocacy group, Save Our Schools, which has been instrumental in organizing schools, teachers and parents to opt out of taking the test.
According to a statement posted on the group’s website, “The 135,000 students who did not take an English Language Arts PARCC test last spring confirms that large numbers of parents rejected high-stakes standardized testing. In fact, the state had the second-highest number of refusals in the country, second only to New York State which has a much larger total of K-12 students.”
Results in County
Compared statistically by PARCC results to their state-wide peers, the best overall performing schools in the county seemed to be scattered throughout the county. At the elementary school level, for PARCC math tests, 13.5 percent of Ocean City third graders tested at the highest “5/exceeding expectations” level while 14.3 percent of Upper Township fifth graders scored at the level.
Avalon seventh graders exceeded these scores in math with 15.4 percent of all students in that borough attaining a “5/exceeding expectations” level. 
For language arts, 14.3 percent of Stone Harbor’s third graders scored at the “5/exceeding expectations” level while 21.5 percent of Upper Township’s fourth graders, 18.2 percent of Upper Township’s sixth graders and 17.6 percent of Cape May City fifth graders scored at that level.
Moving to more senior students, a healthy 37.5 percent of Wildwood Crest Borough’s seventh graders tested at the highest PARCC level while 19.6 percent of Ocean City eighth graders performed at the “5/exceeds expectations” level.
In response to the Herald’s request for comment, Curt Nath, director of Academic Services, Ocean City School District, reacted to the district’s PARCC results, “The PARCC results provide one piece of important data in the determination of our students’ progress and will provide the school district with the ability to analyze our students’ outcomes at standards level.
“Over the next several months, the Ocean City School District will examine these results in an effort to learn what we can from the first year PARCC results before applying it to our multiple measures formula. Of most importance, the data will allow us to better understand our strengths and gaps in our curriculum and instructional practices.
“This analysis will be combined with our results of other assessments such as the PSAT, which has a longer historical lifeline. An analysis of data from the most recent ninth, 10th and 11th grade PSAT results from the October administration shows that our students outpace their peers at both the state and national levels.  That success is also reflected in the scores of our students on other assessments such as ACT, SAT and Advance Placement Exams.”
Standardized Testing, Long History
New Jersey like many other states has given student assessments since the 1970s. Through the years, how students are tested has evolved; at first, just basic skills like simple math and reading were assessed.
Since 1996, the state’s Core Curriculum Content Standards were implemented and in 2001, under the federal “No Child Left Behind” Act every state was required to test students in grades 3 to 8 and then again in grade 11. This requirement remains in effect.
In 2010, the state adopted “Common Core” standards that changed what students were expected to be tested on and focused on so-called “higher order” thinking skills. These standards and the results that were produced are currently undergoing a five-year review to see how well they really are preparing students for college or jobs.
In the 2014-2015 school year, the state once again pivoted and transitioned from previous student assessments to PARCC – the “Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.” 
PARCC measures skills developed in school for math and English language arts and according to the Department of Education website, “more accurately measures the skill developed under the core academic standards and provides parents and educators with meaningful detailed information that can improve learning.”
In May 2015, however, Gov. Chris Christie asked the Department of Education to review the state’s “Common Core” standards and at a Jan. 11 state Board of Education meeting, the Academic Standards Review Committee presented recommendations to improve them.
Following the issuance of PARCC assessment scores and joint analysis of the score reports by educators and parents, the 2016 administration of PARCC and the other required state tests still in effect will begin in April.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.