Mercedes Schneider reviews what is in store for children in Néw Jersey when they take the PARCC test:
“PARCC testing in New Jersey is scheduled to begin March 2, 2015. The NJ PARCC testing “window” will not end in March, but will continue into April, May, and June, depending upon the grade level and whether the test is part of the PBA (performance-based assessment), which is given 75% of the way through a school year, or EOY (end of year), which comes 90% of the way into a school year.
“For third grade, New Jersey schools must schedule 4.75 hours for the English language arts (ELA) PBA and EOY PARCC and 5 hours for the math PBA and EOY PARCC.
“Just shy of 10 hours of schedules testing time for a third grader.
“For fourth and fifth graders it is a full 10 hours.
“For sixth through eighth graders, almost 11 hours.”
Why is it necessary to spend so much time to find out whether children can read and do math?
Some parent groups are urging opting out.
The opt out talk has grown so loud that DC-based Education Trust has sent opinion pieces to Néw Jersey papers urging parents not to opt out. Schneider points out that Education Trust is heavily funded by the Gates Foundation.
New Jersey parents: do not subject your children to 10 hours of testing. Opt out.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
As we’re creatinh the schedules it will be 7-10 hours in LA as well. Due to testing, the computer lab is also impacted for the next three months..
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That is our problem exactly not only am I the tech director I teach 2 other elementary and jr high subjects…who’s teaching those classes while I monitor the tests? Who gets to use the labs while we are running the classes? NO ONE that’s who. This test is all about disrupting education not enhancing it. And as several students have been posting on a particular blog…they don’t even take the test seriously, so what good is it really doing?
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This is ridiculous. Parents need to OPT OUT their children. Follow the $$$$$.
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How many hours for second and third graders be reasonable grounds to file charges of child abuse. I think they would probably be tossed by a judge…….but it might be worth it, just for the public relations aspect….and to nail down just who is responsible for the benefit of the public.
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Please see also the AFSA Feb 25 blog post “Newark Renew Schools Reform Effort Fails Again.” It describes & has link to Alliance for Newark Public Schools 2nd report on Cami Anderson’s Renew Schools’ performance on prior NJ ASK tests. Bob Braun’s Ledger has entry too.
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Thanks booklady! It is a great report!
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This is a NJ editorial completely dismissing any concerns or questions:
“And the parents who say the test is making their children anxious are also overstating their case, in our opinion. Schools have been giving standardized tests — and students have been anxious about them — for decades. And if truth be told, parents and teachers have a lot to do with inducing that anxiety.”
I would just like the adults who took a test like this in third grade in a public school to raise their hands.
I didn’t. Did you? My three older children didn’t. Did the adults writing these editorials and churning out this marketing? Also, someone should tell them that selling this as the most amazing test ever and then dismissing every question with “it’s like the standardized tests we always took” makes no sense. Which is it? Are kids College and Career Ready as a result of this marvel or is it just like the Iowa tests?
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/editorials/the-parcc-test-relax-folks/article_2b48cdae-ba92-11e4-acdb-d7b8a57522f4.html%20#Voices4Ed
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It’s up to us parents to stop this ugly war on our kids, hours on hours of pointless testing to find out so little at such great cost. The kids are being herded and abused. They can’t defend themselves. We have to step in and refuse the abuse of our kids and the looting of our public budgets by commercial parasites.
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This was my comment to the NJSpotlight article (press release) referenced in the deutsch29 blog:
“”A relentless attack from teachers’ unions”. Prove it (cite?) This attack (may it be relentless!) is from parents who pay a pretty NJ REtax penny for good schools. We already send bunches of it to the state for the poor schools & have to raise the balance out of the food budget. How DARE the state & its shills like you steal curriculum time from excellent schools and divert the $ we work round the clock for to tech updates for 100% students testing online, & testing corps?
Do you think we’re stupid?? For years, we’ve witnessed teaching time curtailed– and in middle-class towns, lots of extras dropped– to make room for NJASK annual testing (thanks NCLB). For yrs we’ve had high-schoolers roaming the streets to accommodate HSPA, midterms, finals– whole lotta testing already going on.
Google NJ PARCC spring 2015 testing window, take a look at the mess of testing scheduled on & off between February & May, as they juggle with HSPA.
Students who don’t test don’t count? Scare tactic. More like, if students don’t take tests, you can’t collect the data points– you already don’t count students’ education if you’re taking hours & hours away from their schooling with tests that have zero impact on their grades.
Just a taxpayer here & I object strenuously. If my kids were still in public school you can bet I’d be opting them out. Starve the data-collection beast!
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This was my comment to the NJSpotlight article (press release) referenced in the deutsch29 blog:
“”A relentless attack from teachers’ unions”. Prove it (cite?) This attack (may it be relentless!) is from parents who pay a pretty NJ REtax penny for good schools. We already send bunches of it to the state for the poor schools & have to raise the balance out of the food budget. How DARE the state & its shills like you steal curriculum time from excellent schools and divert the $ we work round the clock for to tech updates for 100% students testing online, & testing corps?
Do you think we’re stupid?? For years, we’ve witnessed teaching time curtailed– and in middle-class towns, lots of extras dropped– to make room for NJASK annual testing (thanks NCLB). For yrs we’ve had high-schoolers roaming the streets to accommodate HSPA, midterms, finals– whole lotta testing already going on.
Google NJ PARCC spring 2015 testing window, take a look at the mess of testing scheduled on & off between February & May, as they juggle with HSPA.
Students who don’t test don’t count? Scare tactic. More like, if students don’t take tests, you can’t collect the data points– you already don’t count students’ education if you’re taking hours & hours away from their schooling with tests that have zero impact on their grades.
Just a taxpayer here & I object strenuously. If my kids were still in public school you can bet I’d be opting them out. Starve the data-collection beast!
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In Indiana one of the school superintendents – with humongous courage – suggested to the community that those opposing the testing should home school their children during the testing period and then re-enroll them AFTER the testing period.
Makes sense to me.
It certainly is one way of fighting the insanity that is going on.
We in Indiana, as well as other states, are in a horrendous situation as those who follow these blogs know
but
this superintendent along with others have formed an organization to fight back:
Indiana Coalition for Public Education.
This has been posted before but think it is worth repeating and emulated in other states as well.
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Is the “testing period” distinguished from the rest of the school year? Isn’t most of the school year devoted to test prep, practice tests and actual tests?
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What you say is true of course – about the rest of the time devoted to pre-test
but
It IS, I believe a way of fighting against the test. IF enough parents keep their children out of the testing process, it will send a message to the legislators PERHAPS. With the insanity going on who knows how much influence it would have. BUT
AGAIN, it is ONE way of fighting back and ALL options should be on the table.
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Yup, Dienne.
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There is something to the argument only people whose own children would not have to be subjected to a system like this could have designed such a system or failed to notice how insane it is.
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FLERP!:
TAGO!
And to argue that the mandated testing time is all there is misses the point entirely. For example, see the first comment in this thread by TiredinLA.
This echoes a posting by Jersey Jazzman entitled “Why Is Michelle Rhee Wrong About Everything?”
Rhee’s argument:
[start quote]
Those test-crazed districts need to be reeled in. But a new study by Teach Plus, an organization that advocates for students in urban schools, found that on average, in grades three and seven, just 1.7 percent of classroom time is devoted to preparing for and taking standardized tests. That’s not outrageous at all. Most people spend a larger percentage of their waking day choosing an outfit to wear or watching TV.
[end quote]
Yet the very report she cites [did she actually read it?] eviscerates her assertion! As Jersey Jazzman put it:
“Let’s be very clear: in direct contradiction to Rhee, the Teach Plus report specifically says the 1.7 percent figure does not include test preparation time.”
And just what amount of test prep time [and resources, as TiredinLA reminds us] might be involved according to the self-same report?
Jersey Jazzman from the report:
1), “Yes, with daily test prep and standards review sessions. More than 35 percent of instructional time is spent on these assessments per year. That includes initial instruction, review, scoring, planning, preparation of additional assessment materials, and reassessments.” – Third grade teacher
2), “The prepping for the test takes a lot of time. Instead of possibly doing projects or more hands-on learning, we really focused on the testing format and preparing our students to be comfortable taking the test. The prepping starts at the beginning of the year and ends in April. We also have to do the practice tests for the [state test] and [district test]. These practice tests can take up to an hour to do.” – Third grade teacher
3), “We spend time practicing getting into our testing groups, taking practice tests, etc. We also typically take time from our usual instruction to focus on test prep in the week or two leading to the test. For example, I stop teaching the novel we are reading for a week to do multiple choice test prep. Also, during the week of the test, we have literally no instruction. I would say overall we lose about 15-20 days of instruction to testing to statewide testing. Another 20 days we are instructing, but it is focused on test prep.” – Seventh grade teacher
Link: http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2014/04/why-is-michelle-rhee-wrong-about.html
And, FLERP!, if I may add—forget for a moment about the children. Let’s talk about the very people who lead the High Holy Church of Testolatry.
Bill Gates, His Own Bad Self. His 9-23-2005 speech to his alma mater, Lakeside School. He builds on the three R’s: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships. And knowing his love of ranking, it seems he went from what he considered was important to more important to most important.
Not one single blessed reference—not a single one!—extolling the benefits and merits of standardized testing, high-stakes, low-stakes, stake-through-your-heart, nada nil nothing.
Thank you for your comment. And see you at the next googling session on “pineapple” and “hare” and “Daniel Pinkwater.”
😎
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Careful there Krazy,
Your are beginning to sound sane and rational, you are in that clear lucid phase that momentarily abates the insanity. Don’t worry though, there is a nice cool glass of Kool-Aid that will restore you to a “normal” functional state. I, of course, prefer Edushyster’s wine boxes. Keep this up and you will have to change your name. Besides, I am about to walk early with my meager pension and likely become a T.A. somewhere. Then at least I don’t have to try and plan lessons for this s***. Not only that, you stole my thunder, but thank you.
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Old Teacher: thank you for the kind words but I could go 24/7 and I wouldn’t be able to steal even a small fraction of your thunder.
😀
Keep writing. I’ll keep reading.
😎
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Just remember, in New Jersey the buzzword is “refuse” in stead of opt-out. It’s just a small semantic difference, but the schools are telling parents “there is no opt-out option.” HOWEVER (and the schools will not say) that a parent can REFUSE to have his or her child tested via the PARCC.
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Do the tests factor into students’ grades or have any other practical importance (e.g., do students need to submit them as part of application packages to selective admission schools) in NJ?
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“Do the tests. . . ?”
That’s why one needs to go through the process of “home schooling” their children during the testing times. The district can’t do anything punitive such as giving a “0” because the students weren’t enrolled at that time.
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Is there home schooling for teachers Duane?
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I’m right in the middle of the storm now. All I can say is that this is child abuse as far as I’m concerned. It is impossible for me to get my students two grade levels ahead. If I had several more years of teaching, I would somehow be getting retrained into another career. It will not be hard for a teacher to be fired with 3 years of low scores with developmentally inappropriate common core objectives on PARCC testing. It will not be hard at all. Any teacher with PARCC testing results will be an easy target.
Also, could anyone answer my question about value added? My test last year was the Ohio Achievement Assessment. My test this year is PARCC. How can they get value added results on a teacher when these two tests are very different tests? The PARCC has much, much harder objectives than the OAA. It seems to me that no one will have good value added. Thanks! Keep blogging. Your comments on Diane’s blog keep me going. The stress is over the top right now for my students and me.
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“How can they get value added results on a teacher when these two tests are very different tests?”
Well you mix and match and throw in a little bat shit, horse urine and monkey snot into the computer turn on the Vaminator program and voila, you get “Value Amplified Malarkey” scores.
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Ha..Ha..Thanks, Duane…you made me laugh…and believe me, I need to laugh! My students and I have so much testing ahead of us, and then we have to do this all over again at the end of April. There are neat activities that I have used for years that I sadly have no time for now. I sadly put them in another file marked “no time to do.” What a nightmare the evil politicians have created for students, parents, and teachers. It is a shame.
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Diane:
Many of us in NJ are refusing.
NJ has 195 districts with parental refusal policies, and the Assembly will be voting on A4165 next Thursday which would extend refusal to the whole state.
All kinds of refusal events are happening.
On Sunday, March 1 from 3 to 5 pm Montclair Cares About Schools will be hosting a PARCC Refusal Meet Up where parents can meet and get info and see the premiere of an incredible new short film Michael Elliot has made with help from MCAS about reasons parents are refusing. (I’m going and organizing.) If people are interested it’s free, but they need to register. Details and registration are at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parcc-refusal-meet-up-tickets-15904851840
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I’m delighted to see parents come forward and fiercely protect their children from these endurance tests. It’s all so simple to me. It’s about the money and sending more of it to for profit corporations. It is NOT about education and they know it.
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Meanwhile, Hepse gave Cami Anderson another year. He’s very happy with her. http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/02/state_renews_embattled_newark_superintendents_cont.html
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Hespe and Christie are happy with Anderson.
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In my district in Utah, the interim CC assessments in math, ELA, and science are required. Those were done in mid January, and took about an hour and a half per exam per subject, so about four hours. Then, the ELA writing portion was during the first three weeks in February. It takes each student a minimum of two hours, although many students took much longer. Then, from mid April until the end of May, students will take the end of course exams in ELA, science and math. The ELA test takes about three to four hours, the math and science each about two hours. So that’s a total of seven hours then. The total of standardized, CC tests in my district, at a minimum, is 13 hours. These tests are not timed, so many students take 20 hours or even more to slog through the testing. It’s sickening.
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On Monday, the NJ Assembly voted YES in a landslide to delay the use of PARCC testing for three years. The uses cited would impact student placement, student graduation and teacher evaluation. Next the bill goes on to the senate for discussion and vote.
This does not necessarily eliminate the PARCC in NJ, at least this year, but I predict a disaster after the PARCC results come in and then a parental pushback so large that the legislators will cave and dump the test.
At our NJEA Legislative a Conference last Saturday, we heard from a senator who feels there needs to be a moratorium but who also feels that three years might be too much. The assembly sure didn’t feel that way. Regarding the opt out bill, we shall see.
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