Livingston School Offical: Students Should Be 'Exposed' To PARCC

Livingston, NJ – Livingston school administrators may be set to embrace the PARCC exam this year.

In a March 9 letter to parents, Livingston’s assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction put forth several statements in support of the controversial exam, which had one the highest refusal rates in the state last year.

• See related article: Livingston PARCC Refusals Among Highest In NJ

“Last year’s introduction to the PARCC was a debacle... I can’t see anyone questioning that,” Patricia Boland stated. “That being said, the essence of the test is what our children will be required to master in assessments going forward in their educational career. They should get exposure to this model and begin to achieve in the areas above because that is their future.”

Boland continued:

“This year the State of New Jersey Department of Education has revised a number of things that make the PARCC more manageable. They eliminated the two testing cycles and reduced the time of both the ELA and the math tests. They made actual testing questions available for teachers which we have been using so that students are familiar with the format and level of expectation. They promise that, since the test is grounded from this past year, the results will be available for the beginning of next year so that we can make good educational decisions.”

Boland wrote:

“It is important to give your child(ren) the experience of the PARCC assessment so that he or she can easily manage the structure and expectations on the PSATs and SATs later on. Beyond this, the State of New Jersey requires a state assessment to fulfill their obligation of the federal requirements of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).”

“State law requires us to have a 95 percent minimum participation rate in state assessments,” Boland wrote. “Livingston Board of Education Policy 2260 reflects this obligation.”

The Livingston Public School District’s spring 2016 PARCC testing schedule can be seen here.

PARENT OPPOSITION

Jeff Wasserman, a Livingston resident with two children, blasted Boland’s March 9 outreach in a written reply to school administrators.

“[Boland’s] letter represents a complete retreat from the admirable position that the district, especially Interim Superintendent Jim O’Neill, staked out last year,” Wasserman wrote. “Rather than remain leaders, this year the district apparently has decided to fall in line with a testing regime that is neither educationally sound, empirically supportable nor socially just, and to do so by passing along half-truths and misinformation intended to ensure high participation rates. The community deserves better than that.”

• See related article: Livingston Superintendent Sticks Up for PARCC Opt-Out Movement

Wasserman continued:

“The summary asserts that the state may take action against school districts, like Livingston last year, without a 95% participation rate on the PARCC test by, among other things, ‘[w]ithholding or directing use of [s]tate aid and/or funding flexibility.’ That simply is not true… tellingly, the “summary” - and therefore the district by passing it along - ignores material changes to the law.”

• See related article: PARCC Law Passes In NJ: Schools Can't Be Penalized For Opt-Outs

“I proudly refused the test for my son, and will do so for my daughter when she reaches third grade,” Wasserman stated. “It is, if you will, an act of civil disobedience, and my son understands the reasons for it.”

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