The Illinois State Board of Education has shown that it not only tests students for English and mathematical literacy, but it also tests the limits of students’ and teachers’ frustration.
This year, the Partnership Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test is being administered to students enrolled in either junior English, Algebra 2 or both classes. It replaces the Prairie State Achievement Exam, which was previously taken by all juniors.
The English Language Arts Unit 1 Exam was originally scheduled to be taken by juniors at the same time in two separate gyms, with separate rooms for students with accomodations. However, complications in administering the test caused the location and time to change, so students took it during their English classes. As a result, English class time was lost to take the test.
The frustration from these difficulties is understandable, but it should be channeled in more productive ways.
Students should express concerns directly to the Illinois State Board of Education. A contact form is available on its website (http://webprod1.isbe.net/contactisbe/).
Purposely answering questions incorrectly or writing essays which do not answer the prompt are not productive ways to resist the test. The PARCC test results are used to make sure the school is meeting benchmark academic requirements for students and may be used to judge the accountability of teachers and schools, according to James W. Pellegrino, a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the PARCC, in an article in the March 6 issue of Torch.
According to college coordinator David Boyle, it is possible that results from the test will appear on student transcripts. In terms of affecting college admission, Boyle said colleges usually need three to five years of data from a standardized test before using the test to judge students.
Most agree the PARCC test is frustrating and there should be a better way to test student achievement. The frustration isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as it’s expressed in a productive way. Complaining to each other is pointless.
The only way to change the test, which will be administered again in the near future, is to complain to the people who are in charge.