PARCC TESTING.

Recently I received a form from a parent declaring they were opting out of PARCC testing for their child. As undesirable as PARCC testing is for parents, the Arkansas Department of Education does not recognize opting out forms. All students who attend Arkansas Public Schools are required by law to take PARCC testing. Because of all the dissatisfaction of parents about Common Core and PARCC Testing, I would like to address some of the issues I have heard.

1) Testing on computer- this is not going to be an unfamiliar format for students. At Leslie Intermediate School our students work on computers often. We are a Google school. All of our students have the capability to work on homework electronically and send it to their teachers. The format in Google Drive for creating documents is very similar to the way students will answer long answers on the PARCC test. We also currently test our students' TLI utilizing computer testing. Answering multiple choice questions electronically is familiar to them. We also provide instruction in keyboarding so students have the opportunity to learn to type correctly and speedily for their age. Another way we have prepared the students is to work on the PARCC tutorials and watch videos on how to work within the test. Testing on the computer will not be a problem for the students.

2) It's more testing. Yes, we will be testing twice not once, but the actual minutes spent in testing will not be considerably more. In the past we tested students four and five days for three hours each day. ( give or take a few minutes). This year we will test three days for PBA -no longer than 180 minutes each day (lower grade levels will be less and one day it will only be 90 minutes) and two days for EOY. The fifth and seventh grade will test two extra days for Arkansas Benchmark in Science but that has nothing to do with PARCC.

3) I'm against Common Core Standards. The fact of the matter is we change standards frequently in education. In the past there was not much publicity of when we changed by the Education Department. Changing to Common Core was just publicized in greater fashion. Changing standards is not a new thing. Also, if you are a student who moves frequently, Common Core assures you have been taught the same standards across schools and states. In the past, when we got students from other states, they would not have had the same instruction. Oftentimes they would be far behind. Common Core ensures what is taught in fourth grade in Arkansas is taught in fourth grade in other states. It provides for easy transition.

4) Common Core is dumbing down our students. No, in fact the reading level is much more rigorous with Common Core. If we start early on with higher expectations of our students to read this more difficult text, students will come to us able to read at a higher level. If your child is currently being successful in school, BE PROUD! These standards and expectations are very difficult, but they are preparing these kids for a better future.

5)Common Core requires students to read more non-fiction. Nothing new. Kids in school have always read a lot of non-fiction. What is science, social studies, history, current events? They are non-fiction. Kids have always been required to read non-fiction. It's just now a percentage has been placed on the amount. If I remember correctly from my public education, I spent one hour in reading or literature class which may or may not have been non-fiction and the rest of my school day in history, math, science - all of which are non-fiction.

6) Common Core leaves out basic addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division. Not at all. If you go back and read the standards, different grade levels have standards of expectations of students knowing their basic math facts. The problem is we have students who were not held accountable to learn their basic math facts and now we are having to build that back into them.

7) These math problems I see on Facebook are crazy. You have to take them for what they are actually meant to teach. Sometimes what looks like a multiplication problem is actually a number sense problem. In the old days we worked through a problem knowing the steps but not the why. I don't know how many times I've been asked why we add a zero when multiplying by two digit numbers. Students know why now. Common Core adds number sense of math.

8) My child is suppose to have modifications. We are going to abide by each student's 504 plan and IEP. In fact, there are more modifications we can provide ALL students in the PARCC test. I'm excited about that!

9) I don't want my child tested on Common Core. Why? It's what we've been teaching. Yes, we expect to drop a little in our scores because we have grade levels that have missed some Common Core standards, but we will improve. The very same thing happened when we changed from SAT testing to ACTAAP testing. Just expect it.

10) I can't help my child. Believe me I feel your pain. When helping students in afterschool, I've had to go back to their teacher to get a little explanation of how to do some work. That's a luxury I have. You have that same luxury with email, YouTube, the student's notebooks etc. Learn to use those tools. I realize that your home time is precious and you may not want to spend your family time doing this. I remember I had to have help when I was a student. That might have been my parents looking back over the text book to reintroduce themselves to what I was working on- not much different then watching videos on YouTube or emailing. We also provide afterschool at our campus as well as a lot of our teachers get to school early and are willing to help. If students get on that first shuttle bus, there is some time in the morning they can get help. They just need to communicate they are there early for help. We will do our best if they do their part. That doesn't mean leaving everything for the teacher to help them understand. Also, paying attention in class may need to increase. There is always the buddy system. I remember talking on the phone doing homework with a friend- talking through each problem. Smartphones take pictures. Send a picture to a friend telling them your stuck. They can send back how to get unstuck. It's a resource available to several. The kids know who can help.

To look at PARCC testing you can search PARCC testing on YouTube. You can also view PARCC sample items at parcc.pearson.com.

Look for part 2 of this blog. I'm sure this conversation will generate more questions and concerns.

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