Written by Velu Krishnan
September 21, 2015
The PARCC, as many of you know, is a new standardized test required to be taken by all students, unless students and their guardians request an “opt-out”. This “opt-out” allows for students to skip the PARCC testing. The PARCC has many drawbacks and benefits, but for today we are going to delve into three reasons for why we should or shouldn’t be taking the PARCC.
Standardized testing has not been a favorite for many students and parents over the years but after the PARCC was announced, these small campfires turned into massive forest fires. Some believe that the PARCC is a very confusing test, as it is on computers and very hard to navigate and answer. The questions on this test are objective-format which means that more than one answer seems correct, and sometimes are all correct, except that you must choose the “best answer”.
As stated in a document by Save Our Schools NJ, “The test questions therefore tend to be tricky and convoluted. The test makers insist on answer choices all being ‘reasonable’… and the wrong answers are all supposed to be plausible”.
In a different light, the impending date of when the PARCC will be taken seems to be replacing time originally dedicated to learning throughout the year. In a poll between students from school about how learning was spread, the data seemed to display that over a third of the year was spent studying and preparing for the PARCC. This test seems to take up valuable time that could be used for learning new things, instead of preparing for a test that is only taken twice a year.
Through a very school oriented perspective, the test seems to impact each individual teacher’s ability to teach, and will be used as a way to grade the teachers. This seems to be unfair, as each student learns and adapts differently and this test and process will punish the teachers. The PARCC seems like anything but a walk in the park, as it is slowly becoming more and more hated throughout the country due to its hindrance to a school’s infrastructure.
On the other hand, the PARRC can also be useful. The PARRC’s new rigorous Common Core standards will allow the children to adapt and evolve faster, which in turn will allow the students to be more prepared for college and life in general. Also, the PARRC is beneficial because it is taken multiple times throughout the year. This allows the test to show growth of skill and intelligence throughout the year which enables students to be properly assessed.
In total, the PARCC will be able to elevate the scores of other tests such as the ACTs and SATs. If this happens, the student will be able to enter higher level colleges thanks to the higher level of thinking required to answer PARCC questions. Overall, the PARCC is a test whose level of difficulty can only be assessed by each individual student’s own abilities. Also, the PARCC’s ability to be beneficial is to be determined by a student and/or guardian. So as far as the test goes, is it a walk in the park or a disaster in the PARCC?
Sources:
http://www.parcconline.org/about
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=the+parcc+test&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB1qFQoTCLS59pHtocgCFYoVPgodj0INGg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kristenswanson.org%2F2013%2F07%2Fending-guessing-game-everything-you.html&bvm=bv.104226188,d.cWw&psig=AFQjCNGYuXCzaZ2HTytgsEBh5a3-NDk2cQ&ust=1443808802153923