PARCC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They could also finally acknowledge that the parcc math test is really a reading test with math mixed in. They treat reading and math scores separately but they are intertwined, especially with how wordy the PARCC is.

Schools can opt into read aloud on the Math PARCC for every student, gen and SPED, for that very reason. The computer reads every question.

Great in theory. We found out about the Read Aloud option on our own and asked our admins if our ELL student could use it 2 weeks before PARCC in 2019. We were told no, because the school had not opted into Read Aloud on math. Admins said that they needed to have arranged for Read Aloud several months in advance.

Admins also said that PARCC testing blocks needed to be 30-45 minutes longer to handle Read Aloud, and that kids using it would need to be put in special rooms away from classmates not using it. Admins said that they didn't have the space or proctors for that (not a Title 1 school), even if we'd asked a few months earlier. Totally hopeless. We wound up keeping our kid home during testing week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you guys getting the idea that these tests take each kid 10-12 hours?

Because I’m a DCPS teacher, and they do.

For HS:
90 minutes for ELA x 3 sessions
90 minutes for Math x 2 sessions
45 minutes for Science x 4 sessions

Many schools will only test students in the mornings, so that looks like:
Get everyone accounted for, do one 90 minute session, get everyone accounted for again, and now it’s lunch time.

We have to do this for 9th grade and then 10th grade. The entire school schedule has to change to accommodate this. 11th and 12th grade students have weird extra long morning classes. This usually takes a whole month or more. Then AP exams start in May. It’s honestly terrible for everyone, not just those taking the test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you guys getting the idea that these tests take each kid 10-12 hours?

Because I’m a DCPS teacher, and they do.

For HS:
90 minutes for ELA x 3 sessions
90 minutes for Math x 2 sessions
45 minutes for Science x 4 sessions

Many schools will only test students in the mornings, so that looks like:
Get everyone accounted for, do one 90 minute session, get everyone accounted for again, and now it’s lunch time.

We have to do this for 9th grade and then 10th grade. The entire school schedule has to change to accommodate this. 11th and 12th grade students have weird extra long morning classes. This usually takes a whole month or more. Then AP exams start in May. It’s honestly terrible for everyone, not just those taking the test.

+1000

It’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s also why the school year should start in mid- August and end in early June. Kids are burnt out on a month of testing and messed up schedules.

[Anonymous]

Why are people saying that DC doesn’t permit families to Opt Out? I was advised that I could opt my child out of testing easily by telling the principal in writing.

[Anonymous]

Which school? Who told you this? Somebody at OSSE?

I opted out in 2018 and 2019 although I got nothing but threats (social workers could knock on your door bearing Criminal Child Neglect charges for poor attendance!) from both our DCPS and OSSE. This time, I'm not talking to anybody. Kid will stay home during testing week, with a daily email to school admins explaining why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They could also finally acknowledge that the parcc math test is really a reading test with math mixed in. They treat reading and math scores separately but they are intertwined, especially with how wordy the PARCC is.

Schools can opt into read aloud on the Math PARCC for every student, gen and SPED, for that very reason. The computer reads every question.

Really every student? In VA we can only give Read Aloud Math to EL and Special Ed students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If opting your children out of PARCC is to do them a "disservice," rich kids are in real trouble.

The inconvenient truth is that their parents permanently opt them out by sending them to...independent schools!

This right here!

[Anonymous]

+1. DC should offer DC public school parents a straightforward opt out, if not a painless one. The Every Student Succeeds Act allows for this. Oregon and Colorado let parents freely opt out.

[Anonymous]

Not happening. There is no opt out movement in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They could also finally acknowledge that the parcc math test is really a reading test with math mixed in. They treat reading and math scores separately but they are intertwined, especially with how wordy the PARCC is.

Schools can opt into read aloud on the Math PARCC for every student, gen and SPED, for that very reason. The computer reads every question.

Really every student? In VA we can only give Read Aloud Math to EL and Special Ed students.

That is probably true of many places but as a teacher I appreciate that if you really want to test math skills you separate out the reading component. Otherwise the two skills are too intertwined to judge student progress.