10 Things Every Parent Should Know About the PARCC

Photo: Seattle Times

As the PARCC testing window approaches, it is time for New Jersey parents to make the decision whether or not to opt their children out of the test. Technically in New Jersey there is no 'opt out'. Parents can simply refuse to allow their child to take the test, despite what school districts may be telling them to the contrary. 

Last year, State Board of Education President Mark Biedron went on record as saying, "We know we can't force any kid to put their hands on a keyboard" —at least for now. If the DOE gets its way, starting with the class of 2020 (this year's 8th graders), the PARCC will be a requirement for high school graduation. 

But we do know this: State law currently does not require students to sit for the PARCC; it only requires the state to administer it. And with the frequency that the DOE changes the graduation requirements, and the backlash they are getting from parents, chances are the PARCC won't be around too much longer.

However, The State Department of Education is determined to force the test on our children. It has put districts with large numbers of opt outs last year on corrective action plans to increase participation. If this test is the magical cure-all, why are many school districts now coercing, scaring and bullying parents and students into taking the test?

As doctors take the Hippocratic oath to "First do no harm", educators have an obligation to do no harm to students by teaching and assessing based on research-based and peer-reviewed best practice. The PARCC test does not make the cut.

So, in order for you to make a more informed decision about the PARCC, here are ten things every parent should know: 

1. The test is not diagnostic. In order for any test to accomplish this, it must have at least 25 questions per assessed skill. The PARCC does not. Bari Ehrlichson, Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Education, admitted this last year in a panel discussion on the PARCC.

2. The PARCC does not consistently assess grade-level skills. Rider University Professor and reading expert Russ Walsh analyzed some of the sample language arts questions and found many of them to be several grade levels above the tested grade. This is not only unfair to both students and teachers; it is also demoralizing to students. How can anyone be expected to succeed at something when the odds are heavily stacked against them from the start?

3. Research has shown that student designed projects and research are far more effective and meaningful ways for both teachers and students to assess deep learning and understanding. Standardized tests in general are meant to show trends, and as such, PARCC falls far short on the assessment continuum.

4. The American Statistical Association has warned that standardized tests should not be used to assess educator effectiveness because the methods being used are simply not reliable. And with the enormous emphasis now put on data in teaching, teachers should not be evaluated based on a flawed test that provides flawed data.

5. Out of the 24 states originally in the PARCC consortium only seven plus the District of Columbia will be participating in the 2016-2017 testing. This should be a red flag warning to every parent and educator.

6. PARCC is not a reliable predictor of 'college and career readiness'. Recent research shows that high school GPAs are the most reliable predictor of college success. Yet all across this state—and country—related arts classes that help build those GPAs are being scaled back or eliminated to make way for more Common Core study and PARCC prep.    

7. A recently released study published in the School Superintendent Association's Journal of Scholarship and Practice concluded that a higher percentage of the 2009 New Jersey high school core curriculum content standards in English language arts and math prompted higher-order thinking than the 2010 Common Core State Standards for those same subjects and grade levels. We are dumbing down our students. 

8. The amount of testing students will be subjected to starting with the graduating class of 2020 is not only against current law, it’s just plain cruel. Starting with this class, in order to graduate high school, students will have to take and fail the PARCC not once, not twice, but three times before any real assessment of their academic progress can be used. What educator in their right mind thinks this is best practice?

9. There are big problems with scoring. Officials from PARCC have admitted there are discrepancies in scores between students who took paper and pencil tests vs. those who took the test online, with the former group scoring on average higher than the latter. And, despite PARCC's promise of leveling the playing field for all students in all states, the PARCC consortium states have the option to change their cut scores. This is nuts.

10. The fact that in its recently released report, the Study Commission On The Use Of Student Assessments in New Jersey failed to honor and recognize the hundreds of people who testified against this test, and instead recommended a marketing campaign* to crush the Opt-Out movement and brainwash parents and the general public into thinking it will solve all the world’s problems is proof that this test cannot stand on its own merit and should be thrown out.

Contrary to what some may say, the Opt Out movement was not started by the teacher unions, nor was it, as NJ Education Commissioner David Hespe said, a bunch of high school students who just didn't want to take the test. It is a nation-wide, grass-roots movement started by parents who are concerned about the over emphasis on flawed tests and data that falsely measure their child's education, unfairly evaluate teachers and penalize schools.

Last year, in our state's first PARCC testing year, over 100,000 students refused the test. That number is second only to New York State, which had approximately 200,000 students refuse. Unfortunately, these numbers were compiled by individuals doing a lot of research on the DOE's own website because the department either cannot or will not release the actual numbers. 

Every parent must make their own informed decisions regarding the PARCC and what's best for their child. But, unless parents have access to both sides of the issue, that cannot be done. The bottom line is that school districts cannot force students to take the test. They will not lose funding if your child opts out

For more information about the PARCC and your rights as a parent, visit Save Our Schools NJ and NJ Kids And Families. You can also modify my opt out letter to suit your needs.

* See Recommendation 17

The Day NJ Parents Occupied the State DOE

The February 10th NJ State Board of Education meeting was a watershed moment in the NJ Opt-Out movement. Here's my report from the field.

Newton's third law says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. 

So, when Commissioner Hespe, sitting smugly on his throne at the February 10th State Board of Ed meeting and borrowing a page from Arne Duncan’s book of anti-middle class rhetoric, proclaimed the NJ Opt Out movement last year was nothing more than a bunch of high school students* not wanting to take the test...

As Bari Ehrlichson gushed over the wonderfulness and fabulousness of the CCSS and PARCC, and practically compared Language Arts writing prompts currently used by elementary school teachers to coloring books...

As Hespe proclaimed, “This is what educators want! This is the promise and we’re delivering!”...

As board member Dorothy Strickland, stricken with a severe case of the vapors over the CCSS and PARCC, proclaimed, “I’m so thrilled!... Delighted!”...

... a storm was brewing. 

Parents were traveling from all over the state to Trenton for the afternoon session of testimony. 

I've attended and testified at many State Board of Ed meetings, but this one was different. The Study Commission on the Use of Student Assessments in New Jersey released its final report last month, which, if approved by the board, will require high school students to be subjected to a tsunami of standardized testing that would make Superstorm Sandy look like a tide pool. The Study Commission recommends launching a full-scale media campaign paid for by "business community and philanthropic organizations" 'reformy' money to crush the Opt-Out movement and brainwash parents into believing the PARCC is wonderful. 

But we're not buying it. 

And we've had it with the disrespect Commissioner Hespe shows us, and the lack of action on the part of some State Board members who know better.

To be fair, State Board of Education members are appointed by the governor and are largely figureheads. As one board member told me, "They keep us in the dark and feed us shit." The majority of the current crop are there to do Gov. Christie's bidding. Some are there beyond their expiration date, and they don't want to rattle the cages too much lest they be shown the door. But, Christie's approval numbers are in the toilet and he'll be gone next year. These board members are all that's standing between us and even more 'reform' insanity. In talking with them one-on-one (even some appointed by Christie), they get it. It's time they step up to the plate and do their job.  

The Testimony

Testimony got underway after lunch. The bitterly cold wind whipping off the Delaware River reflected the mood of those who signed up to speak. 

About 50 of us were divided into four rooms. Most were parents, a few were teachers and members of other civil and/or activist groups. That may not seem like a lot, but what we lacked in numbers, we made up for in content and passion. 

It never ceases to amaze me how little the State Board members know about public education and the policies on which they vote. More often it's those who testify who provide them with accurate information. They seem woefully unaware that the state broke the law when it made PARCC a graduation requirement, and that the Education Law Center and the NJ ACLU have filed suit. One board member was shocked that third graders take the test online. He couldn't believe that 8-year-olds have to type essays on a computer when most still haven't mastered keyboarding skills. What rock is he hiding under?  

Most have absolutely no idea what goes on in a classroom, the challenges students face—especially those of color, limited English proficiency and with special needs—or the tidal waves of unfunded mandates and un-vetted, unproven 'reforms' that are bankrupting school districts and destroying public education.

But this was the icing on the cake:

  

Board Member Andrew Mulvihill listens to public testimony

This is board member, Andrew Mulvihill, on his phone during public testimony. He also spent part of the morning session in the lobby talking on it. In addition to being a Christie appointee to the State Board of Ed, here's a little more about him courtesy of Bloomberg Business:

Mr. Andrew J. Mulvihill serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Crystal Springs and Mountain Creek real estate division. Mr. Mulvihill worked in the development and building industry for the past 25 years. He is the Owner of Mountain Resort Properties. Mr. Mulvihill served as President of the NJ Golf Club Course Owners Association, Member of the Newark Academy Board of Governors. He Founded Highlands State Bank. He serves as a Director of Highlands State Bank Vernon (NJ) and Highlands BanCorp. Inc. He has been Director of New Jersey Department Of Education since 2011. Mr. Mulvihill holds B.A., Political Science from Stanford University.

In case you were wondering, Newark Academy is an exclusive, $36,000/year 6-12 private school with average class sizes of 13, in Christie's high school alma mater town of Livingston. According to the school's website 

NA's curriculum offers students uniquely designed academic courses and opportunities that prepare them for productive engagement in a deeply interconnected world. 

I'm sure Newark Academy is a terrific school, and students get a wonderful education. But why no mention of "college and career ready"? Oh... that's only for the rest of us.

Here's my testimony:

You can see more testimony on the Save Our Schools NJ Facebook page. 

When testimony in his room finished, some parents wanted to have an informal conversation. They dared call out from the audience, asking him to stay and talk. Wanting to know when the board would be voting on the proposed changes. I guess he didn't like this because he got up and gave a lukewarm, 'I'll think about it' kind of answer and walked out.

And that's when things got interesting.

Testimony in the adjacent room wrapped a few minutes before, and people were milling around talking. The rooms are divided by moving panels, so sound travels very easily. It was hard to hear the people still testifying in Mulvihill's room. An audience member apparently asked the security guard to tell the people in the other room to lower their voices. He didn't do such a great job, so I went in and asked them to lower their voices. He didn't like that too much and yelled at me. Well, if he had just done his job...

Then everyone in all the rooms spilled out into the lobby and we were greeted with this... 

And this...

We weren’t rude or unruly. We were just charged up because there were so many of us in one room at one time on the threshold of a vote that will change public education for the forseable future.

Make no mistake: PARCC is not just another test, and our children aren't spoiled suburban kids who treat opting out like a senior prank. There are thousands of students who willingly sit for the SATs not once, not twice, but several times because it has some meaning and worth. The PARCC has no worth at all.

* In our first official year of testing, over 100,000 NJ students opted out of the PARCC last year. This was the second highest number in the nation next to NY with 200,000. As a parent of a teenager who's pretty smart, organized and savvy, I still doubt that 15-18 year olds can organize that many students around the state to do the same thing on the same days at the same time when, on many days, they can't even find their way out of their own bedrooms.