As of late last semester, the decision to administer the PARCC test to juniors has been changed. Now, freshmen will be taking the exam instead.
“In Dec., State Superintendent Chris Koch announced that schools would have the flexibility to choose which students took the test,” said director of curriculum and instruction Tracey Landry. “We chose freshmen because juniors have AP tests, the ACT, and another test would be a significant burden.”
Aside from benefitting the juniors, testing freshmen will also provide the district consistent data.
“Eighth graders are also taking the test, so it will give back to back data,” Landry said.
Though the new decision was reached late in the year, the school is working hard to ensure that freshmen students are adequately prepared.
“The social studies department volunteered to administer a practice English test to the freshmen,” said social studies department chair Chris Kubic. “We didn’t track the results because the test was really about exposure. It’s a lot different to take this test because it’s on the computer, and it was important for students to learn the different tools and how to scroll through a passage.”
Additionally, PARCC is a test centered around Common Core standards, which means students are prepared through every day instruction.
“We’ve prepared students for a long time through our rigorous curriculum,” said associate principal for curriculum and instruction Jeff Schagrin. “They learn key skills in the classroom, and we focus on Common Core.”
Freshmen are intended to take the PARCC English test on March 3, when the juniors take the ACT. The math portion will be administered at a later date in math classes. PARCC also requires the End of Year test (EOY) to measure growth, which as of right now, will be administered in late April or early May, though an exact date has not yet been set.