How did the PARCC go for your child today?
Just asked my son, 12th took Hspa, but he heard 11th graders were messing around with the answers.
sprout said:
@dg64
Here is the letter from Mr. Memoli:
Thanks, @sprout. I dug that letter up this evening. Based on this letter, I presume that kids who are in Precalc and therefore, don't have to take the math portion of the PARCC have to abide by the sit in the class with others taking test and read book. I wish they could have a delayed start so that they could get some work done. My kid would probably enjoy reading but usually has enough backlog of school work that a couple of extra hours in a week couldn't hurt.
I was listening to WNYC a few days ago, and they were interviewing a mom who was having her kids opt out of the PARCC. One was a little girl, named Wednesday, who took a practice test, didn't do well, and got hysterical. Her argument got counterproductive for me when I heard her other children's names: Kitty and Tiger Lily. ;-)
Wednesday was also dyslexic, and that WNYC piece only interviewed a family opposed to the test. That seems to be the pattern of every news story about this. Only interview the families who are upset, not those of us who are okay with it.
Actually it is a better news story. Complacency and acceptance verses challenging the status quo. You choose which gets air time. Or your own attention. I've sent in my refusal letter. I saw no benefit to my son or his teachers.
Those students not taking the math test because of their current math class level, were not required to report to the testing site. So they didn't miss anything; they reported to their AM classes as usual.
dg64 said:
sprout said:
@dg64
Here is the letter from Mr. Memoli:
Thanks, @sprout. I dug that letter up this evening. Based on this letter, I presume that kids who are in Precalc and therefore, don't have to take the math portion of the PARCC have to abide by the sit in the class with others taking test and read book. I wish they could have a delayed start so that they could get some work done. My kid would probably enjoy reading but usually has enough backlog of school work that a couple of extra hours in a week couldn't hurt.
boomie said:
Actually it is a better news story. Complacency and acceptance verses challenging the status quo. You choose which gets air time. Or your own attention. I've sent in my refusal letter. I saw no benefit to my son or his teachers.
The status quo is what we had before we decided that education needed to be more rigorous. The status quo resulted in kids getting to college who can't read. The status quo left us behind the rest of the developed world.
This test will have rough spots. It isn't perfect, but I don't believe in the status quo. I want my child challenged, and I want to know that the teachers understand the common core well enough to teach it.
My kid was a little nervous the night before (but heck, they were nervous before NJASK so what's the big deal) Said it was hard but then when he 'got it' he felt he 'got it' and it was like 'connecting the dots.' Rather nonplussed by a few technical difficulties. Curious about the fact that some kids had different tests for the research portion. When I asked how he felt, he said, "Proud."
My 5th grader said the test was easy both days. I suspect the 10th grader is planning to give random answers because I wouldn't opt her out. Her English teacher assigned the students to write a letter about the test, which I find to be inappropriate, to say the least, but I'm not sure what to do about that.
That was the question this thread was started to answer. And at some level I think it is the point: If it's either easy or difficult for everyone the test is poorly calibrated. So far, the few answers that have addressed the original question have been that students are finding the test easy, which is surprising given all the hype about how difficult or incomprehensible it was supposed to be. Obviously, this is unscientific and the actual results will be revealed in time, but I'm interested to hear about what other kids are reporting regarding the difficulty of the test. Mine said most of the kids seem to find it easy. Of course sometimes they think a test is easy but it turns out it was harder than they thought because they missed something important.
Coffeegretchen said:
My 5th grader said the test was easy both days. I suspect the 10th grader is planning to give random answers because I wouldn't opt her out. Her English teacher assigned the students to write a letter about the test, which I find to be inappropriate, to say the least, but I'm not sure what to do about that.
Opt out of the letter.
The following statement was drafted and endorsed by 35 teachers at Newark's Science Park High School, a school consistently rated as one of the top public schools in New Jersey and the nation.
To Whomever Will Listen:
We are teachers at Science Park High School in Newark, New Jersey, and we are deeply disturbed by the thirty days of disruption being forced on our school. In the coming weeks, like the rest of New Jersey, we will be forced to administer the PARCC exam. A few weeks ago we saw the schedule: three weeks of testing in March, followed by three weeks of testing in May. This total does not include the additional week of make-up testing following each of the three-week periods. This total does not include the days of mandatory test preparation to familiarize students with the exam's very specific computer interface. This total does not include the thousands of hours of training of teachers and administrators to plan, schedule, and execute this exam. We honestly believe that The State of New Jersey, by forcing us to administer this time-devouring test, is engaged in behavior destructive to the educational well being of our students.
We believe that the thirty days of disruption could just as easily be called the thirty days of destruction. Science Park High School is a Blue Ribbon school. We, like many teachers in Newark and throughout New Jersey, have dedicated huge parts of our lives to making certain that our students receive an excellent education. We come in early. We stay late. We give up our weekends. We wouldn't change our dedication because we love what we do. We love the students we teach. Our love forces us to say something.
We do not believe that parents and administrators who work for the State of New Jersey understand the destructive impact this testing will have on our ability to teach students. Some teachers will be removed from their classes for a week. The second week that same teacher may not have any students because they are being tested. In the third week they may have only partially filled classes. The disruption will continue with some students still absent from class during the fourth week of make-up exams. Then we have spring break, three weeks of teaching in April, and in May we test for a second three-to-four week period. We say again, in May we test for a second three- to four-week period!
We value our time in the classroom with our students. Teachers are important to the educational process. It is wrong to stop the educational process for close to 17 percent of the year to administer an exam. We could talk about further objections, like the use of a confusing computer interface, or the use of an exam that many highly educated and successful people have difficulty completing. But thirty days of testing is sufficiently outrageous and -- we believe -- indefensible.
There are three questions this schedule raises that demand answers:
1. Why is 30 days of testing disruption more beneficial than 30 days of classroom instruction? We have never heard a pedagogical justification for this and could not imagine what one would be. Explain to us how this is about the education of our children.
2. How much are the State of New Jersey and private foundations spending on the creation, training, execution, and grading of this exam, and who is financially benefitting from this? There is so much in education that we cannot afford, that we must fund out of our own pockets. There are so many teachers and clerks and drug counselors and attendance counselors who have been laid off, in our own building, in our district, in our state. What is the financial bottom line?
3. If this PARCC exam is so valuable and good, how many of New Jersey's top private schools have adopted it? Is Delbarton or Newark Academy or Pingry subjecting their students to the "educational benefits" of this exam?
Although we, the undersigned education workers, do not represent the entire faculty at Science Park High School, we are confident that every member of our faculty shares our critique of this exam. We are even confident that many principals and superintendents not brought in by the current regime share our critique. Yet many are afraid to speak out because they fear retaliation against themselves, their principal, or even the entire staff or school if they dare voice their honest, professional opinion.
We who have signed this letter cannot live in fear. We are offended by the situation in which we find ourselves, in which education policy is dictated by billionaires who never taught a day in their lives, while our patiently gained professional expertise is ignored. Even worse, we are offended by a situation where many honest, hard-working education workers feel afraid to voice their professional opinion for fear of backlash.
What type of teachers would we be if we taught our students about the First Amendment, yet did not voice our professional opinion? What type of teachers would we be if we taught our students about civil rights movements, yet neglected to defend them from this exam? With these questions in our conscience, we are not afraid to issue this clear statement.
We love teaching. We love our students. Our collective educational opinion is that PARCC's thirty days of disruption is bad for our schools and bad for our children.
To Whomever Will Listen:
We are teachers at Science Park High School in Newark, New Jersey, and we are deeply disturbed by the thirty days of disruption being forced on our school. In the coming weeks, like the rest of New Jersey, we will be forced to administer the PARCC exam. A few weeks ago we saw the schedule: three weeks of testing in March, followed by three weeks of testing in May. This total does not include the additional week of make-up testing following each of the three-week periods. This total does not include the days of mandatory test preparation to familiarize students with the exam's very specific computer interface. This total does not include the thousands of hours of training of teachers and administrators to plan, schedule, and execute this exam. We honestly believe that The State of New Jersey, by forcing us to administer this time-devouring test, is engaged in behavior destructive to the educational well being of our students.
We believe that the thirty days of disruption could just as easily be called the thirty days of destruction. Science Park High School is a Blue Ribbon school. We, like many teachers in Newark and throughout New Jersey, have dedicated huge parts of our lives to making certain that our students receive an excellent education. We come in early. We stay late. We give up our weekends. We wouldn't change our dedication because we love what we do. We love the students we teach. Our love forces us to say something.
We do not believe that parents and administrators who work for the State of New Jersey understand the destructive impact this testing will have on our ability to teach students. Some teachers will be removed from their classes for a week. The second week that same teacher may not have any students because they are being tested. In the third week they may have only partially filled classes. The disruption will continue with some students still absent from class during the fourth week of make-up exams. Then we have spring break, three weeks of teaching in April, and in May we test for a second three-to-four week period. We say again, in May we test for a second three- to four-week period!
We value our time in the classroom with our students. Teachers are important to the educational process. It is wrong to stop the educational process for close to 17 percent of the year to administer an exam. We could talk about further objections, like the use of a confusing computer interface, or the use of an exam that many highly educated and successful people have difficulty completing. But thirty days of testing is sufficiently outrageous and -- we believe -- indefensible.
There are three questions this schedule raises that demand answers:
1. Why is 30 days of testing disruption more beneficial than 30 days of classroom instruction? We have never heard a pedagogical justification for this and could not imagine what one would be. Explain to us how this is about the education of our children.
2. How much are the State of New Jersey and private foundations spending on the creation, training, execution, and grading of this exam, and who is financially benefitting from this? There is so much in education that we cannot afford, that we must fund out of our own pockets. There are so many teachers and clerks and drug counselors and attendance counselors who have been laid off, in our own building, in our district, in our state. What is the financial bottom line?
3. If this PARCC exam is so valuable and good, how many of New Jersey's top private schools have adopted it? Is Delbarton or Newark Academy or Pingry subjecting their students to the "educational benefits" of this exam?
Although we, the undersigned education workers, do not represent the entire faculty at Science Park High School, we are confident that every member of our faculty shares our critique of this exam. We are even confident that many principals and superintendents not brought in by the current regime share our critique. Yet many are afraid to speak out because they fear retaliation against themselves, their principal, or even the entire staff or school if they dare voice their honest, professional opinion.
We who have signed this letter cannot live in fear. We are offended by the situation in which we find ourselves, in which education policy is dictated by billionaires who never taught a day in their lives, while our patiently gained professional expertise is ignored. Even worse, we are offended by a situation where many honest, hard-working education workers feel afraid to voice their professional opinion for fear of backlash.
What type of teachers would we be if we taught our students about the First Amendment, yet did not voice our professional opinion? What type of teachers would we be if we taught our students about civil rights movements, yet neglected to defend them from this exam? With these questions in our conscience, we are not afraid to issue this clear statement.
We love teaching. We love our students. Our collective educational opinion is that PARCC's thirty days of disruption is bad for our schools and bad for our children.
Mar 4, 2015 at 2:10am Edited
"We love teaching. We love our students."
But we hate verifiable measurements of performance.
-----
"defend them from this exam"
Wow, talk about turning up the hyperbole! Anyway, who are they really trying to defend, the students or themselves?
-----
"Is Delbarton or Newark Academy or Pingry subjecting their students to the "educational benefits" of this exam?"
Perhaps not, but what happens at these schools when a teacher is shown to under-perform year after year? Do they still keep their job?
(BTW, shouldn't that be ' "Are" Delbarton or Newark....' ? ugh)
----
"Why is 30 days of testing disruption more beneficial than 30 days of classroom instruction?"
How misleading. What child is missing 30 days of classroom instruction?
____
"Explain to us how this is about the education of our children. "
Uh, perhaps someone is concerned with finding out statewide whether the children are actually being educated?
Where was the outrage around NJAsk? Is it the tests or the proposed teacher evaluations that have these folks in such an uproar?
----
PARCC is far from perfect, but what do these people propose as an alternative to measuring student/teacher performance state-wide? They are very long on hysteria but very short on proposed solutions.
But we hate verifiable measurements of performance.
-----
"defend them from this exam"
Wow, talk about turning up the hyperbole! Anyway, who are they really trying to defend, the students or themselves?
-----
"Is Delbarton or Newark Academy or Pingry subjecting their students to the "educational benefits" of this exam?"
Perhaps not, but what happens at these schools when a teacher is shown to under-perform year after year? Do they still keep their job?
(BTW, shouldn't that be ' "Are" Delbarton or Newark....' ? ugh)
----
"Why is 30 days of testing disruption more beneficial than 30 days of classroom instruction?"
How misleading. What child is missing 30 days of classroom instruction?
____
"Explain to us how this is about the education of our children. "
Uh, perhaps someone is concerned with finding out statewide whether the children are actually being educated?
Where was the outrage around NJAsk? Is it the tests or the proposed teacher evaluations that have these folks in such an uproar?
----
PARCC is far from perfect, but what do these people propose as an alternative to measuring student/teacher performance state-wide? They are very long on hysteria but very short on proposed solutions.
I think that's a powerful argument. The NJASK |& other such tests usually spend a few days, not weeks on the test. Based on my son's report that they spent their classroom time with the LA teacher playing hangman, & didn't see their math teacher at all, this test is hugely disruptive if that happens for 6 solid weeks.
Mar 4, 2015 at 2:57am Edited
Coffeegretchen said:
I think that's a powerful argument. The NJASK |& other such tests usually spend a few days, not weeks on the test. Based on my son's report that they spent their classroom time with the LA teacher playing hangman, & didn't see their math teacher at all, this test is hugely disruptive if that happens for 6 solid weeks.
Each grade spends 8 to 9 days on testing (less than 2 weeks, and for a bit over an hour per day) on the test. Here is the schedule and the testing time from SOMSD (ETA: It also shows the time that NJ ASK used to take):
http://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/cms/lib7/NJ01001050/Centricity/Domain/43/PARCC%20FAQ%202%2023%202015.pdf
ice said:
They are very long on hysteria but very short on proposed solutions.
Watch it with that "hysteria" stuff. You might be talking to a lady.
Mar 4, 2015 at 7:57am Edited
Not to worry rukidding, hysteria is now for everybody! :-D
"a psychological disorder whose symptoms include conversion of psychological stress into.... shallow volatile emotions, and overdramatic or attention-seeking behavior. The term has a controversial history as it was formerly regarded as a disease specific to women"
I think this definition applies well to folks (male and female) who state that they need to 'defend students from this exam'.
"a psychological disorder whose symptoms include conversion of psychological stress into.... shallow volatile emotions, and overdramatic or attention-seeking behavior. The term has a controversial history as it was formerly regarded as a disease specific to women"
I think this definition applies well to folks (male and female) who state that they need to 'defend students from this exam'.
It's about much more than the test. It's about the push for privatization and putting education in the hands of for-profit companies.
Education “reformers’” new big lie: Charter schools become even more disastrous.
The more so-called reformers push vouchers and school choice, the worse it works out -- for everyone
Make sure to read all the way down to the part the part that says "Vouchers on the hill."
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/02/education_reformers_new_big_lie_charter_schools_become_even_more_disastrous/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
Education “reformers’” new big lie: Charter schools become even more disastrous.
The more so-called reformers push vouchers and school choice, the worse it works out -- for everyone
Make sure to read all the way down to the part the part that says "Vouchers on the hill."
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/02/education_reformers_new_big_lie_charter_schools_become_even_more_disastrous/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
I'm a high school teacher at a nearby district and I just wanted to provide my perspective on PARRC and respond to some of the comments/questions raised on this thread.
A few posters mentioned students who have refused to take the test and what they may or may not do during the test. In our district, students are only allowed to read a book. I believe this is due to security reasons. Because refusal students are seated next to students taking the test, they could knowingly or unknowingly bring in school material which another student who is taking the test could use to their advantage. I would love for my students who are refusing to take the test to get ahead in my class by doing homework or working on an essay but that's not how it works.
I hesitate to speak for all teachers. However, I know many of us are frustrated with how long the testing period is for and the fact that this has to be repeated all over again within a matter of months. I'm not a teacher who believes is doing work for work's sake. My classroom activities and outside assignments are built around the idea that these are valuable learning experiences for my students. Therefore it's very frustrating to see the high number of students refusing to take the test (though I certainly don't judge or blame them for not wanting to take it) or hearing from students that since they know it doesn't count, they didn't even bother to try. This is a serious waste of instructional time.
Yes, in previous years 11th graders took the HSPA. HSPA is child's play in comparison to PARRC. First, HSPA took far less time than PARRC and only impacted one grade level. Second, PARRC is far more difficult to administer than HSPA because it is done electronically. We had to do extensive training to learn how to administer PARRC and many of us still find it confusing.
Finally, and this is slightly veering off topic, I'm not at all against holding teachers and schools accountable. I've always welcomed anyone to visit my classroom on any given day because I love what I do and I believe in what I'm doing. I'm also not inherently against standardized testing because sometimes the data can be useful. What I am against is this notion that somehow standardized tests will solve all of our problems with education. If that were the case, we'd have solved our problems decades ago. The problems in education are rooted in issues of inequality in this country. No standardized test can solve that problem but it's much easier to blame the schools and teachers rather than look at the real issues of poverty in this country. Until we really decide as a country that we want to seriously tackle poverty (and most public officials don't want to because it's an incredibly difficult problem to alleviate much less solve) then we will always have a division in the public school system of the "haves" including MSO, Summit, Chatham, etc. and the "have nots" such as Newark and Camden.
Again, I'm not speaking for all teachers here but I just wanted to throw out my perspective on some of this from someone "in the trenches" so to speak.
A few posters mentioned students who have refused to take the test and what they may or may not do during the test. In our district, students are only allowed to read a book. I believe this is due to security reasons. Because refusal students are seated next to students taking the test, they could knowingly or unknowingly bring in school material which another student who is taking the test could use to their advantage. I would love for my students who are refusing to take the test to get ahead in my class by doing homework or working on an essay but that's not how it works.
I hesitate to speak for all teachers. However, I know many of us are frustrated with how long the testing period is for and the fact that this has to be repeated all over again within a matter of months. I'm not a teacher who believes is doing work for work's sake. My classroom activities and outside assignments are built around the idea that these are valuable learning experiences for my students. Therefore it's very frustrating to see the high number of students refusing to take the test (though I certainly don't judge or blame them for not wanting to take it) or hearing from students that since they know it doesn't count, they didn't even bother to try. This is a serious waste of instructional time.
Yes, in previous years 11th graders took the HSPA. HSPA is child's play in comparison to PARRC. First, HSPA took far less time than PARRC and only impacted one grade level. Second, PARRC is far more difficult to administer than HSPA because it is done electronically. We had to do extensive training to learn how to administer PARRC and many of us still find it confusing.
Finally, and this is slightly veering off topic, I'm not at all against holding teachers and schools accountable. I've always welcomed anyone to visit my classroom on any given day because I love what I do and I believe in what I'm doing. I'm also not inherently against standardized testing because sometimes the data can be useful. What I am against is this notion that somehow standardized tests will solve all of our problems with education. If that were the case, we'd have solved our problems decades ago. The problems in education are rooted in issues of inequality in this country. No standardized test can solve that problem but it's much easier to blame the schools and teachers rather than look at the real issues of poverty in this country. Until we really decide as a country that we want to seriously tackle poverty (and most public officials don't want to because it's an incredibly difficult problem to alleviate much less solve) then we will always have a division in the public school system of the "haves" including MSO, Summit, Chatham, etc. and the "have nots" such as Newark and Camden.
Again, I'm not speaking for all teachers here but I just wanted to throw out my perspective on some of this from someone "in the trenches" so to speak.
In order to add a comment – you must Join this community – Click here to do so.
Sponsored Business
Promote your business here - Businesses get highlighted throughout the site and you can add a deal.
For Sale
-
REVO luggage $100
More info
SuzanneNg