Colorado Coalition Says PARCC Testing is Not Teaching
Call on Governor Hickenlooper For Support.
Guest post by authors listed below.
Proponents of the controversial Common Core aligned PARCC test suggest that it is a "more rigorous" standardized test and will create better students. This "rigor" proves difficult to measure as the PARCC test questions have not yet been released. Colorado mandated that all schools take the PARCC test without knowing what is on the test. PARCC is a new, unproven, unfunded, state and federally mandated test to be taken on computers, MULTIPLE TIMES per year. Since the inception of NCLB, we have been adding to the pile of standardized tests that our students must hurdle. We over-use and over-emphasize standardized tests. PARCC adds to the pile, with lost classroom time, exorbitant cost (districts spending millions of dollars for infrastructure and computers necessary to take this PARCC test), and high-stakes pressure on both students and teachers alike. Despite this increase of standardized tests, post-secondary remediation ratescontinue to climb. Colorado began field-testing PARCC last week.
Visit testingtalk.org to see feedback from Colorado teachers on both PARCC and TCAPs; the reviews are not positive. New York piloted the Common Core aligned field tests earlier this year and also found multiple problems; their statistics show that PARCC actually widens the achievement gap. Standardized tests fail to accurately measure knowledge; results can be predicted based onincome and race. The tests are snapshots, don't take into account other factors: ability to navigate computer, having an "off" day, tired / sick, issues outside the classroom, etc. High school GPAs are a more reliable predictor of college readiness. Evaluating teachers based on standardized tests is highly questionable as per ASA findings.
Coloradoans are fed-up with standardized testing. The Colorado Education Association, has Colorado Coalition Says PARCC Testing is Not Teaching - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: