Bargains, petitions, concerns for PARCC test

From weather delays to difficulties logging on to the program to take the test, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers testing has not had a smooth roll out.

The PARCC replaces the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge and High School Proficiency Assessment tests, which were graduation requirements. PARCC seeks to measure students' knowledge of the national Common Core standards, adopted by New Jersey in 2010.

The computer-administered English and math tests students in grades 3 through 11, but the PARCC is not a graduation requirement until 2018 and students were allowed to opt out of the test this year.

The test has so many problems it cannot be fixed, according to a letter to Gannett New Jersey from Wendell Steinhauer, who is president of the New Jersey Education Association, which is the teacher's union.

Other groups like Save Our Schools NJ, an organization of state parents and residents in support of public education, have rallied in opposition to the PARCC. Similar sentiments have led to large numbers of students opting out of the standardized test throughout the state.

To combat boycotting of the PARCC, one area school district is offering an incentive: Take the test, and skip final exams.

That's the deal Newton Superintendent Kennedy Greene made with students in his school district after 41 percent of eligible students declined to take the PARCC on the first day of testing last Tuesday.

"I think all superintendents anticipated issues, but that 40 percent refusal rate was definitely surprising for us," Greene said. "It wasn't something we could leave alone."

Unlike other districts, Newtown did not have a formal opt out process for the PARCC because Greene said it was not an option supported by the state. Students who refused the test are taken to a supervised setting away from the PARCC, but are not given an alternate assignment.

"I can't make a student take a test," Greene said. "When it's a graduation requirement that makes it difficult to refuse, but now with SAT and other tests as graduation alternatives there isn't that incentive."

The state-mandated participation requirement is 95 percent, which means if 36 percent of the students who opted out of the test on day one did not make up the exam, the district could lose state funding as early as next year.

In a letter addressed to parents last week following the first day of testing, Greene explained this situation, including the consequences of low participation.

Greene said Newton Public Schools received $665,321 for the 2014-15 academic year under Title I, Title II, and IDEA funding, some or all of which would be in jeopardy.

"Losing any significant portion of this funding would be devastating for us," Greene said. "And would force consideration of painful cuts to student programs."

Greene said that money has never been taken from a district for not reaching the 95 percentile on standardized test, but state requirements are set up so it is a possibility.

Due to those statistics, and "justifiable concerns" about the general frequency of testing in school, Greene decided to exempt students who took the PARCC from taking their English and Math final exams.

"We believe the exam results, along with our regular instructional program, will give us the necessary information on academic performance in those areas," Greene said, adding the decision has been under consideration for some time.

On Friday's make-up day – several days of testing were disrupted last week due to weather – an additional 20 percent of students took the exam, bumping the total up to 80 percent of the nearly 600 high school students in the district.

In the lower grades, the percentage of students taking the exam have been significantly higher, Greene said.

On the second day of testing which was Monday, Greene said the total stayed at 80 percent, and may finish slightly higher.

The only constant from district to district seems to be that each one is dealing with the PARCC in their own unique way.

Roxbury has had 700 refusals districtwide, about 25 percent of the 2,743 students eligible to take the PARCC.

Students who opted out of testing in Roxbury are taken to another supervised location, where they are encouraged to read or work independently for the 50 to 90 minutes their peers are completing the PARCC.

Superintendent Patrick Tierney made testing protocol clear with a post online and a special Parent Night in early February. The opt-out deadline was Feb. 17, and parents or guardians had to submit a written letter.

Roxbury's Director of Technology Teresa Rehman said students who do take the tests are completing them quickly.

"We are highly concerned. If the initial results are skewed and kids are not taking it seriously, how does that play into the baseline score development?" Tierney said. "Even more concerning beyond the impact on the children's scores, is the impact on the teacher and principal student growth percentile score, which could be linked to the PARCC scores."

The growth percentile score is a measurement of how students improve from one year to the next compared to students across the state with a similar score history.

Tierney said this year's test results will not be used for placement or program decisions. He said the district is monitoring the state legislature for potential intervention on how the PARCC scores will be used.

Mount Olive's decision to administer alternative assignments to students who refuse to take the PARCC has led to uproar on social media, and resulted in a Change.org petition.

The petition, which has netted more than 200 signatures, includes a letter directed at Mount Olive administrators and Board members telling them not to treat students as "test scores or a trophy."

"Do not give Mount Olive School District students, refusing the PARCC, a graded alternative assignment that will be used for a final grade, class placement, or grade promotion," the letter reads. "Do not intimidate the students of this district by putting them up to punitive punishments for not taking a high-stakes, unproven test. Respect the rights of the students in this district by not scaring, intimidating, or harassing them."

Students also took to Twitter to express their frustrations with the policy, particularly placing blame on High School Principal Kevin Stansberry.

Superintendent Larrie Reynolds said the petition was started by a high school freshman, Alex Mirsky. He said Mirsky has been campaigning against the PARCC for several months, and that his arguments contain "kernels of truth, but are overstated."

"Mr. Mirsky's statements are inaccurate," Reynolds said. "Rather than just have students sit in place we hand out an alternative assignment, but it is not graded."

Mirsky said what the district is doing to "refusers" feels like discrimination to him. He said he feels he is being punished for his beliefs, thinking the PARCC is bad.

Reynolds said students who opt out of the PARCC may take tests or complete homework if they have such things that need to be made up, but the alternate assignment for other students is an SAT prep packet, which is scored but not graded.

Mirsky said he was told at a February information session that those who opted out of the test would be given a 10-hour graded alternate assignment.

So far, Mirsky has not shown up to school during the times PARCC has been administered, and he is concerned about receiving a failing grade because of this.

Calls to Stansberry for clarification have not been returned.

Reynolds said various reports and social media have detracted from the merits of the test, but there have always been standardized tests.

"We've never had an issue below 95 percent (on a standardized test) before the PARCC," Reynolds said. "But students who take it say they feel it's overhyped. I couldn't find a student that was stressed. It's seven or eight questions each day and many finish in 15 minutes. They said it's easy."

Overall, Mount Olive's testing percentages are high, with four of the six schools near or exceeding the 95 percent.

The high school has an 82 percent completion rate, 88 percent of ninth graders and 78 percent for grades 10 and 11. The middle school is right on the edge with 94 percent.

Mountain View Elementary is below the threshold because of fifth grade, which is at 85 percent, as opposed to 97 percent for fourth grade. Third grade has yet to start the PARCC.

"Overall, I'm neutral to the PARCC. Students are expected to test, it's a state requirement that I have nothing to do with," Reynolds said. "We follow the law here and I make no apologies for that."

Greene said the fact that all districts are responding to the PARCC differently is proof the state felt pressured.

"There were clear procedures with the HSPA, and we never had these problems," Greene said. "Now we're told we can deal with student refusals in our own way. With 580 different (districts) in the state, it adds to the unease and anger. And I don't feel it's an effective way to operate if we're held to that 95 percent."

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@dailyrecord.com