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Star Ledger - N.J. to release state PARCC scores Tuesday
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By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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on October 19, 2015 at 4:39 PM, updated October 19, 2015 at 6:07 PM
TRENTON — New Jersey on Tuesday will provide a first glimpse of the results of the controversial Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exams.
The state Department of Education will release state-level results that show what percentage of New Jersey students met grade-level expectations on the new state tests in math and English, department spokesman David Saenz said. The tests are taken in grades 3 through 11.
Results for schools and individual students are not expected to be released until November, the department said earlier this month.
The computerized PARCC tests debuted in New Jersey and about 10 other states last spring. Every student who participated received a score on a scale of 1-5.
RELATED: How the complicated process of finalizing PARCC results unfolds
Only students who scored a 4 or a 5 are considered to be meeting expectations and well-prepared for the next grade, according to the benchmarks set by participating PARCC states.
Preliminary results released by other states show that many students did not meet the grade-level expectations established by PARCC. Some states are considering a 3 as a proficient score for graduation requirements or federal accountability, purposes, even though those students are only "approaching" grade-level expectations according to PARCC.
New Jersey Education Commissioner David Hespe will likely recommend that the state use the same benchmark set by PARCC, a 4 or better, as the cutoff point for reporting to the federal government how many students are meeting expectations, Saenz said. The state Board of Education must approve the recommendation.
The New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, has already questioned whether the PARCC scores are a valid measurement of student achievement.
PARCC testing sparked a backlash from some parents and teachers, who said that the exams were unnecessarily confusing and that testing and test preparation forced students to give up time that should have been spent learning.
Opponents of the tests have also raised questions about how local opt-out movements may impact the results.
Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook
