Park the PARCC? State’s Trying

COURT HOUSE – One unequivocal promise made by candidate Phil Murphy was that Gov. Murphy would end the state’s long relationship with Partners for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). 
Murphy appears to remain committed to moving away from the computer-based PARCC exams and toward an as yet to be defined new test. The issue is that ending PARCC will take time.
A Department of Education memorandum dated Oct. 5 and updated on Oct. 12 announced the Murphy administration’s plans to reduce the number of hours students spend in assessment testing but it does not eliminate the tests. 
This is a step in the direction of reducing the impact of PARCC exams on students’ school experience.
The Memo
The memo from Assistant Commissioner Linda Eno announced plans to eliminate some standardized testing and shorten the tests that remain.
It also changed the name from PARCC testing to N.J. Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA). More encompassing changes to the assessment system require approval from the State Board of Education.  
State officials have informed the State School Board that the proposed changes “reflect the department’s transition to a new generation of state assessments.” 
For now, the Eno memo promises a less onerous testing process that reduces the time required by the tests by anywhere from a quarter to a third depending upon the test and the grade level. 
Among the changes proposed by the Murphy administration, but not yet approved by the State Board of Education, is a shift away from sole reliance on PARCC scores as a high school graduation requirement, and a move to continue the alternative pathway that allows students to substitute passing scores on SAT or ACT tests, used by many colleges as an admission criteria.
The changes that will take effect immediately include the name change and the alterations to length and time of specific exams. The Oct. 5 memo lists the following changes for 2019:
Grades 3-5
For mathematics assessment in grades 3-5 the test will be 60 minutes shorter with one unit of testing eliminated.
For Grade 3 the ELA will be 75 minutes shorter with one unit eliminated.
In grades 4 and 5 ELA will move from three units taking 270 minutes to two units taking 180 minutes.
Grades 6-8
For grades 6 to 8, the mathematics testing will be shortened by one unit and 60 minutes. ELA will be reduced by 90 minutes and one unit of testing.
High School
PARCC assessments for Algebra I and II along with Geometry, taking a total of 270 minutes, will shift to a NJSLA assessment of Algebra I at 180 minutes with unit and testing times for Algebra II and Geometry still to be determined. 
In ELA the 270 minutes of testing in 9-11 will be reduced to 180 minutes in grade 10 with future decisions pending on any requirements for grades 9 and 11.
Proposed Change to Graduation
Other changes to the PARCC testing regiment are dependent on action by the State Board of Education, a 13-person body whose members are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the State Senate. The board sets the rules required to implement state education law.
Under the law, no two members of the Board may be appointed from the same county. The current board has no member from Cape May County.
The Department of Education is asking the board to approve changes to the graduation requirements.
New Jersey has long had a requirement that students wishing to graduate high school must pass a standardized test. There was a single exam that students took in junior year to fulfill the requirements for English and Math.
If they passed that exam and met all the course requirements, they could graduate. The state announced that in 2016, 90.1 percent of students graduated.
Things became complicated with the introduction of PARCC. Rule changes meant that students in the classes of 2017 through 2019 had to pass a PARCC math exam for Algebra I or II or Geometry along with a PARCC English exam in either 9, 10 or 11th grades.
For these students, the alternative was available of achieving an acceptable score on the SAT or ACT tests.
For the Class of 2018, NJ regulations accept a score of 450 or higher on the English Evidence-Based Reading and Writing exam and a score of 440 on the Math.
In terms of results from a nationally representative sample, an English score of 450 would place the student in the 30th percentile, meaning 70 percent of students scored higher. For math the minimum score of 440 would equate to the 25th percentile.
The Christie administration plan was to transition to PARCC as the sole test for graduation in the state by the Class of 2021 with the only alternative being the portfolio appeal process.
The proposed changes presented to the State Board of Education would roll back all these requirements and leave in place the current pathways to graduation including access to alternative tests including SAT and ACT.
The Murphy administration also is moving to change the way PARCC scores can be used in teacher evaluations.
For this year the administration lowered the impact of the scores from 30 percent to 5 percent of evaluations.
In its letter to the State Board of Education, the Department of Education stated that the changes in standardized testing will still ensure that “students master the knowledge and skills needed to enter the workforce, job training programs, or higher education.”
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.