PARCC Test Becomes Graduation Requirement In New Jersey

Starting with the class of 2021, all New Jersey students will have to pass the PARCC tests to graduate from high school, under regulations adopted by the state Board of Education Wednesday morning.

The approval comes despite more than two years of vocal opposition to the tests from parents and teachers and in spite of the fact that fewer than half of the students who have taken the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests have achieved a passing score.

Both the Asbury Park Press and NJ Advance Media reported the vote to approve the requirement.

Students entering eighth grade this school year would be required to eventually pass both the Algebra I and 10th-grade English tests from the PARCC.

The NJ.com report said the requirement makes New Jersey the only state in the country to require a passing score on the tests. The only option for New Jersey students who are unable to pass the exams will be to seek portfolio approval from the state, APP.com reported.

There are just eight states remaining as full participants in the consortium that at one point had 24 states plus the District of Columbia; none of New Jersey's neighbors participate in PARCC.

Among other states still administering the PARCC, none are using it as the sole litmus test for graduation readiness.

In Illinois, state educators have opted to replace the PARCC exams with the SAT and will provide it to all public high school juniors to reduce testing "redundancy and maximize the value of test-taking time," the state said. Neither test is used as a graduation requirement. Colorado's graduation requirements for the Class of 2021 offer a menu of test options; PARCC is not mentioned by name among them. Maryland offers options for assessment scores, including the SAT and ACT tests, to meet graduation requirements. Massachusetts,which administers the PARCC, requires passing scores on its own state assessment tests but still offers options for proving graduation readiness.

In New Mexico, students have to have taken the PARCC twice but the state offers a menu of options to meeting assessment graduation requirements, while in Rhode Island, graduation requirements include testing but do not mention PARCC.

Some states have dropped standardized testing altogether as a graduation requirement. California recently rescinded its requirement for high school students to pass a standardized test after more than a decade of court battles and debate, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Pennsylvania shelved any decision on utilizing tests as graduation requirements until 2019.

The PARCC tests have been under fire for more than two years, with critics saying they are often not developmentally appropriate and test skills that are not acquired by students until much later. But state Commissioner of Education David Hespe has held firm, insisting the tests will ensure "our children gain the knowledge and skills they need to lead successful lives."

Thousands of students have skipped the tests during its first two years of full administration in New Jersey. And this year, nearly 10,000 graduating seniors were forced to seek portfolio approval to receive their high school diplomas as a result of changes in January to graduation requirements for the class of 2016.

The test refusals resulted in most school districts in the state having to come up with plans to increase participation in the tests.

The second year of tests showed improved scores across the board, Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday in an announcement about the results of the 2016 tests.

But among high school students, fewer than 50 percent achieved either a 4 or 5 on the tests; the state requirement to be considered passing is a 4.

Among ninth-graders, the 35.6 percent achieved a 4, and 13.2 percent achieved a 5. For 10th-graders, the figures were 31.0 percent and 13.4 percent, and among 11th-graders, 31.7 percent scored a 4 and 8.4 percent scored a 5, according to the governor's office.

"More than 65,000 additional students took the math test this year and more than 56,000 additional students took the English language arts exam, and in fact, numerous educators and researchers have reviewed PARCC and have concluded that it is undoubtedly an effective assessment tool," Christie said in remarks about the increased scores.

The test scores also are being released months earlier than the 2015 scores. Preliminary information was released to districts in October 2015, but parents did not receive score reports until late December and January, forcing high school seniors who had not taken either the SAT or the ACT to scramble for qualifying graduation scores on an alternate test.

Hespe told the Asbury Park Press the low passing rates were not cause for concern because scores are expected to rise as students and schools grow more accustomed to the tests. He said the state had given a five-year timeline for passing the tests with the expectation that scores would improve, the Press reported.

Proponents of PARCC say the test is a better measure of college readiness and critical thinking skills and that too many students have graduated needing remedial classes before they can start college. Officials also say that PARCC tests yield useful information on students' weaknesses and strengths that can be used to improve classroom instruction.

The first year of testing — and the complaints and issues surrounding the administration of two rounds of the tests — led to changes for the 2016 assessments that shortened the testing time and reduced the administration to just one round of testing.

Karen Wall photo