Stop Using PARCC and SAT For High School Graduation, N.J. Lawsuit Demands

What should it take for high school students to demonstrate “competency” in New Jersey?

Last year, NJ Commissioner of Education David Hespe announced that the state’s high school students would face new graduation requirements starting in 2016, nixing the long-used High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) and Alternative High School Assessment (AHSA) tests in favor of the fledgling PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) exams.

After vowing to fight the new regulations, a group of New Jersey parents and students – backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and the Newark-based Education Law Center (ELC) – filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Education on Tuesday.

The lawsuit contends that when Hespe announced the new graduation guidelines, the Department of Education failed to follow existing regulations or propose new ones under the NJ Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

According to the ELC, its constituents have raised concerns about the potential impact of the proposed policies, especially among at-risk students, English language learners, students with disabilities and students with special needs.

“For example, the elimination of the AHSA will close a pathway to graduation used by as many as 10,000 students annually, including more than half of all English language learner graduates,” ELC representatives stated in a release.

“The use of fee-based commercial tests, including the SAT and ACT, as high school graduation exams also raises questions about equal access and the alignment of these tests with state standards,” ELC representatives added.

The lawsuit seeks to halt using the PARCC, SAT and other standardized tests as graduation requirements until the DOE formally proposes and adopts new regulations through the APA process, giving local parents and educators a chance to comment on the futures of the state’s high school students.

Ironically, the lawsuit will now go before the Commissioner of Education – Hespe – who can opt to rule directly on the case or assign it to the NJ Office of Administrative Law.

When contacted by Patch, ELC representatives declined to comment on the possibility that Hespe would choose to rule on the lawsuit himself.

CURRENT GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

In a 2014 memo, Hespe laid out the three possible ways that a high school student can demonstrate the “proficiency in English Language Arts and mathematics” that he or she needs to graduate in New Jersey starting in 2016.

PARCC SCORES – Achieve a passing score on a PARCC English Language Arts assessment in grades 9, 10 or 11. Achieve a passing score on the PARCC Algebra I or Geometry or Algebra II assessment.

SUBSTITUTE COMPETENCY TEST – Achieve a passing score on a “substitute competency test,” including the SAT, ACT, ASVAB-AFQT, or Accuplacer – Write Placer and Accuplacer Math – Elementary Algebra exams.

PORTFOLIO APPEAL – Districts may submit a “portfolio” for students who do not demonstrate competencies through the above two ways.

File photo via flickr