Superintendents Share PARCC Concerns

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam that will be administered at Illinois schools for the first time this spring served as a major point of concern for both Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Paul Goren and Evanston Township High School District 202 Superintendent Eric Witherspoon during the combined “State of the Schools” event held Thursday at ETHS.

“I have several major concerns,” said Witherspoon. “The amount we are spending on this is too much, it’s alarming. We will have to disrupt school for at least two full days for this and then need to get a waiver to take another day for the ACT, the most important test.”

Goren pointed out that offering the test is a requirement, but still outlined challenges the PARCC will bring District 65 staff and students.

“I worry about implementation and whether it happens in a timely manner,” he said.

But the test needs to be provided, Goren added, due to its alignment with the money the District receives from the federal government.

“I can’t take the risk of that $7 million going away,” he said, referring to his “obligation to preserve our financial stability.”

And while he does not condone parents opting their children out of the exam, he will “be respectful to those who do.”

Witherspoon said additional resources have already been put in to the PARCC, which will replace the ISTEP. He said all staff will need to be re-trained and before the exam begins, administrators are required to unlock each student’s test one by one.

“If there are any computer issues, we will need to bring in a tech person, too,” he said, noting that he has heard that during the test, some students have had difficulty going back on the test and that when they tried, “their computer would freeze.”

Goren also indicated additional work and resources would be put into the new exam, including time to troubleshoot if problems should occur.

“We want to make sure we are ready when the test comes,” he said.

Witherspoon took a more forceful approach.

“I can’t believe we are disrupting students for a test I’m not sure will accomplish anything,” the District 202 superintendent added.