Opting out of PARCC testing in DC?
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Anonymous
What is bad about the test is that it is not a reliable reflection of student learning for a variety of reasons. Many of the questions are impossible to decipher for adults let alone 3rd graders who have recently mastered reading. Many of the math questions are unclear. Many of the reading passages are not at an appropriate level for the age of the children taking the test. Multiple choices are purposefully designed to have 2 or 3 correct answers, yet one is "more correct" than the others. This is a reasonable approach to check the skills and knowledge of a teenager but elementary students--even the really smart ones---do not have the cognitive flexibility to make these kind of distractors a legitimate test of their knowledge/skills. This is just a sample. It is a bad test. There are good tests out there, but this one is not well-made. That makes it unfair and unjust and not a reliable measure. Suggestion: go online, Google PARCC and take some of the sample tests yourself. You will quickly see what I am talking about if you do it with an open mind |
Anonymous
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There was a great article in Greater Greater Education last year about why they should have gone with an adaptive national test (basically the adaptive version of the PARCC): http://greatergreatereducation.org/post/21870/theres-a-test-that-may-give-us-a-clearer-picture-of-student-growth-but-dcps-is-reluctant-to-consider/
I really wish they would have gone this route. |
Anonymous
After a quick Google search... just a few... http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/01/29/south-jer...rcc-opt-out-standardized-test/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/w...ont-have-to-take-but-eva-does/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/w...ter-on-parcc-common-core-test/ |
Anonymous
Anonymous
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From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/04/23/parent-to-obama-let-me-tell-you-about-the-common-core-test-malia-and-sasha-dont-have-to-take-but-eva-does/
"I have a Ph.D. in English, I’ve been in college and high school classrooms for over 20 years, and for much of that time I’ve trained and coached high school English teachers. I was shocked that the ninth grade test included an excerpt from Bleak House, a Dickens novel that is usually taught in college. I got seven out of 36 multiple choice questions wrong on the eleventh grade test. And I had no idea what to do with this essay prompt on the third grade test: Old Mother West Wind and the Sandwitch both try to teach important lessons to characters in the stories. Write an essay that explains how Old Mother West Wind’s and the Sandwitch’s words and actions are important to the plots of the stories. Use what you learned about the characters to support your essay. Would Sasha have been able to figure this out in third grade? And, more importantly, is there any reason a third grader should have to figure out an essay prompt this broad and abstract?" --- "So here’s one essay prompt: You have learned about electricity by reading two articles, “Energy Story” and “Conducting Solutions,” and viewing a video clip titled “Hands-On Science with Squishy Circuits.” In an essay, compare the purpose of the three sources. Then analyze how each source uses explanations, demonstrations, or descriptions of experiments to help accomplish its purpose. Be sure to discuss important differences and similarities between the information gained from the video and the information provided in the articles. Support your response with evidence from each source. Eva’s comment on this question: “It’s impossible, and there’s like 15 parts.” Just as I feared, she exaggerated. There are only four parts. But take a close look at those parts. Can you figure out what you’re supposed to be doing here, President Obama? And could you have done it in seventh grade?" |
Anonymous
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PARCC practice tests...
http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/ |
Anonymous
I don't think you know much about psychometry and what goes on under the hood of these types of standardized exams where it comes to analysis and validation. |
Anonymous
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Absolutely correct. I am not an expert in test and curriculum design. But this guy is and he has a lot to say
http://dianeravitch.net/2014/11/30/bob-shepherd-why-parcc-testing-is-meaningless-and-useless/ |
Anonymous
| More than half of the states originally signed on to the PARCC Consortium have withdrawn. The state education officials have determined that the PARCC test is CCRAP. There is a problem "under the hood" |
Anonymous
As I've said previously, so much of this Common Core hysteria is driven by the right wing. You just proved my point by linking to a blog run by Diane Ravitch. Robert Shepherd doesn't seem to have any real credentials other than some vague reference to designing textbooks and curriculum. What are his bonafides? He seems to completely lack any credentials at all other than writing poetry and teaching English and having an "interest" in curriculum design, pedagogical approaches, assessment, educational technology, learning, open source and crowd sourced educational materials. But no real credentials to speak of. |
Anonymous
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And the 12 states that have opted out? all right wing idiots as well I suppose.
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Anonymous
| So how many of you have checked test scores at the school you are at? How many of you considered it as a factor when choosing where you are going to live? I get it is imperfect and will be more so for a couple of years but really I think a lot of people are hypocrites. They want the data, just don't want to have to deal with the messy way it gets there. |
Anonymous
| We took millions in federal grant money. This is the price. It was intertwined with the grant money. Why are you bxtching about paying the piper? |
Anonymous
Diane Ravitch has an agenda and is hardly an objective or unbiased source. |
Anonymous
| Wow. Yes, take anything Diane Ravitch says with a boulder if salt. |