PARCC Results: Most N.J. Students Failing To Meet Grade Level

Parents: Be prepared to be shocked when you receive your new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test results in a few weeks.

Less than half of New Jersey students who took the standardized test are meeting their grade-level expectations, according the state Department of Education.

The results were released Tuesday (see photos).

Only 41 percent of 11th-graders met or exceeded their English and language arts expectations on the PARCC test this year. And that’s just one example.

Thirty-four percent of students met or exceeded their math expectations. Forty-six percent met or exceeded their English and language arts goals, according to the results.

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PARCC opponents note that a sizable number of people didn’t take the test, which probably influenced the results. But state officials told nj.com that more work needs to be done.

“This first year’s results show there is still much work to be done in ensuring all of our students are fully prepared for the 21st century demands of college and career,” said state Education Commissioner David Hespe, according to the site.

NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer said NJEA and its partners “have expressed deep concerns about the invasive nature of standardized testing in our public schools and have questioned the validity of PARCC and the use of such tests for high-stakes decisions regarding students and teachers.”

“Policymakers have responded by eliminating one entire testing window, dramatically reducing the disruption of PARCC in our schools, and by reducing the impact of test scores on teacher evaluations to 10 percent,” he said. “They have also delayed the use of PARCC tests as a graduation requirement. We call on the Department of Education to go further in each of these areas to reduce the intrusion of the test and to remove its high-stakes impact.

He called the PARCC test ”a deeply flawed assessment tool that was further compromised last year by widespread problems with technology and other issues associated with administering a new, unproven test statewide for the very first time.”

Photos: State DOE