After reading the March 30 News Transcript article, “Board Grants Superintendent New Five-Year Contract,” I was disappointed to read Superintendent of Schools Dr. John J. Marciante Jr.’s vision for the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District.
As a parent of three children in the district, I do not agree with many of the curricular and technological changes that have been happening in our district. Dr. Marciante is eager to have a “21st century district” complete with a “digital conversion” by putting Chromebook laptop computers and iPad tablet computers in the hands of young learners.
However, he seems to neglect any research that implies our elementary students could be harmed by the excessive use of computer and tablet technology. Some occupational therapists suggest that students who are overexposed to technology can suffer from increased impulsivity, delays in executive functioning and an inability to self-regulate.
The use of technology in our elementary schools has also been shown to affect students’ ability to engage and play with their peers, as well as a decrease in motor skills. Research is also being completed to study the potentially harmful health concerns of radiation emissions resulting from all of this classroom technology.
Sadly, I have yet to find any research that demonstrates how learning through technology is more beneficial than learning with the support and wisdom of a teacher.
Dr. Marciante also mentions that the district will use data from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) to improve classroom instruction. He states that a “significant number of students are not where they need to be when it comes to college and career readiness.” He implies that Manalapan-Englishtown students cannot pass college entrance exams and have to take remedial courses once they get to college.
Dr. Marciante has ignored the fact that the PARCC is not a validated or reliable test, meaning it has not undergone the scientific testing to prove the test is accurate at evaluating student achievement.
The PARCC test has been plagued with controversy over its scoring system, from hiring scorers off of Craigslist to adjusting the proficient scores after the test has been taken and graded.
The PARCC exam was originally used in 24 states across the nation. It is currently being used in six states as a result of its lack of reliability and transparency.
In addition, the research done by the state Department of Education which reports that students entering colleges need to take remedial courses refers to students entering two-year community colleges (community colleges admit all students and have a large population of students returning to school several years after graduating high school). The research does not refer to the majority of students graduating high school and moving on to four-year schools.
The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District has amazing teachers and support staff who educate and care for our children every day. It is disheartening to see that Dr. Marciante’s vision for this school district does not advocate or support these amazing teachers, but instead focuses on computerized learning and the results of an unvalidated high-stakes test.
Liz Nisi
Manalapan