By Frank Mustac, Contributor
An overview of the latest Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) standardized test results at the Hopewell Valley Regional School District highlighted scores from several grade levels, leaving officials wondering whether standardized testing actually works as a method of evaluation.
During a recent Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent Christine Laquidara highlighted average scores for the grade four and eight English Language Arts/Literacy exams, as well as for the Mathematics test at the same grade levels.
Complete PARCC test results for the Hopewell Valley Regional School District for grades three to 11 can be found online, Ms. Laquidara said at the most-recent school board meeting, held at Central High School.
PARCC is a consortium of states that collaboratively developed a common set of assessments to measure student achievement in math and English up to senior year of high school, and preparedness for college and careers.
According to data provided by the school district, fourth grade students scored an average of 777 on the English Language Arts/Literacy exam. The result is higher than the state average of 751 and the cross-state average of 742.
The cross-state average is an average of scores in the eight U.S. States, including New Jersey, that use the PARCC test.
Bear Tavern Elementary School and Toll Gate Grammar School scored above the district average in the English test, with overall average scores of 782 and 788, respectively.
At Bear Tavern, 91 percent of students met or exceeded expectations, while at Toll Gate, the figure was 89 percent.
At Hopewell Elementary School, 71 percent of students met or exceeded expectations, and at Stony Brook Elementary, the number was 78 percent.
Ms. Laquidara said that scores from all students enrolled in the STEM program were credited to Bear Tavern, where science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classes are taught. The same is true for the grade four Mathematics exam. Students in the STEM program come from all four elementary schools in the district.
On the Mathematics exam, fourth-grade students in the district scored an average of 767, which is higher than both the state average of 746 and the cross-state average of 738.
Bear Tavern and Toll Gate in the Mathematics test scored above the district average with average scores of 773 and 779, respectively.
At Bear Tavern, 84 percent of students met or exceeded expectations in math, while at Toll Gate, the figure was 91 percent.
At Hopewell Elementary, 62 percent of students met or exceeded expectations, and at Stony Brook Elementary, the number was 72 percent.
In grade eight, 242 students took the English Language Arts/Literacy exam. The district average score was 750, which is above the cross-state average of 743, but below the state average of 753.
The grade-eight PARCC mathematics test was taken by only 68 students, Ms. Laquidara said. Far more students, she said, took “end of course math assessments.”
“Students performed 16 percent below the state average and 18 percent below the cross-state average,” she said. “This is due to the math differentiation with most eighth-grade students taking either the PARCC Algebra 1 test or the PARCC Geometry test.”
While looking at the math results, Ms. Laquidara noted that it was important to remind everyone that “the math curriculum is in the process of being reviewed to better reflect the skills needed in particular courses per the common core standards.” As such, math courses within the district will “continue to be realigned or redesigned to meet the needs of our students.”
“It really still is our mission to teach the whole child,” she said. “We focus on developing the whole child by providing a comprehensive, caring educational experience that spans beyond academics into athletics, performing arts and extra curricular activities, so we don’t define our students on how they do on [standardized] tests.”
Ms. Laquidara emphasized to parents in attendance that the district does not “teach to the test,” but rather that the PARCC results will help guide the district’s professional outlook.
Speaking about the number of students who officially refused to take the PARCC test during 2015-16, she said there were “fewer refusals this year than last year,” though there were still actions that needed to be taken to reduce that number.
In the slide presentation delivered by Ms. Laquidara to the Board of Education, one slide read that “non-participation needs to be considered when analyzing results, thus the large number of refusals our district had particularly at the secondary level must be taken into consideration when looking at the results.”
