Schools
Montclair PARCC: School District Releases Process For Opt-Outs
The public outreach is a "refreshing alternative" to other district's treatment of PARCC opt-outs, one online commenter wrote.
Montclair, NJ – Parents and students planning to opt-out of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam in Montclair may find the process a little easier this year.
On Thursday, Montclair Interim Superintendent Ronald Bolandi sent parents and guardians an emailed letter explaining the process for refusing to take the PARCC exam, a move that some online commenters labeled a “refreshing alternative.”
The letter reads:
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“As you know, the New Jersey Department of Education requires all students to take state assessments. There is no provision for a student to opt-out of statewide assessments. However, last year the Montclair Board of Education passed a resolution allowing the district to create a plan for students not taking the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) according to their parents’ request.”
In order to opt-out of the PARCC, parents/caregivers must notify the school principal that their child will not be participating in the scheduled statewide assessment by March 1 via an online link or hard copy of a form, the letter states.
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The link and hard copy form can be seen on the district’s website here.
Montclair parents and students put up widespread resistance to the PARCC exam’s rollout last year, with more than 40 percent of students throughout the district opting-out of the test.
According to school data, the opt-out totals were most pronounced at Montclair High School, where 68 percent of students refused to take the test. In contrast, at the low end of the scale, only 7.5 percent of students at Watchung Elementary School chose to opt-out of the PARCC.
- See related article: Montclair School District Releases Final PARCC Refusal Totals
- See related article: PARCC Opt-Out May Cost Montclair Funding, Superintendent Says
Many online comments about the letter were overwhelmingly positive, as per the following Facebook exchange.
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