No
surprise: Most students in Rhode Island “failed” the
Common Core PARCC tests. As I have explained many times, the tests were
designed to fail most students.
They
are aligned with NAEP Proficient, which most students have never reached, with
the sole exception of those in Massachusetts, where slightly more than half
have reached that standard.
What
is the point of giving a test that is too hard for most students?
Mike
Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute wrote to say that the tests were
designed to show college readiness, and only 40% (or less) are college ready.
But 70% enroll in college. Thus, he writes, a remediation crisis in college.
But
really, why should schools test third graders for college readiness?
Colleges
set their own admission standards; they can accept or reject whoever they want.
I
wonder if Michael Phelps or Simone Boles would have tested “proficient” on
PARCC?
I
posed these questions to him:
Making
the passing mark so high that most kids fail is insane. Does that make them
smarter? Will they be denied a high school diploma? Will they be retained in
grade? Will the schools become giant holding pens where most kids never get
past third grade?
Mike
is never at a loss for words so I expect he will answer.
Meanwhile,
the RI Commissioner of Education, Ken Wagner (formerly deputy commissioner in
New York state), was quoted in
the Providence Journal:
Less
than 22 percent of black and Latino students scored proficient in English
compared to a statewide average of almost 38 percent on the Partnership for
Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, a challenging test rolled out
last year amid dismal results.
Less
than 9 percent of English language learners reached the state standard, and
that number fell to less than 6 percent for special-needs students.
Related
content R.I. educators urge stay the course on standardized testsIn an
interview yesterday, State Education Commissioner Ken Wagner said poverty was
not to blame for the chronically low scores among urban school districts.
“If
you go back 40 years, we’ve always been at a 30- or 40-percent plateau,” he
said, referring to the percentage of students reaching proficiency in English
and math. “Part of the story is we need to stop changing our minds. We need
take a common-sense approach and stick with it for the long haul.”
Rhode
Island, unlike Massachusetts, has switched state tests. It has reversed course
on whether passing a test should be a high-school graduation requirement.
Legislative leadership has undermined the work of education commissioners.
Math
scores increased by 5 points this year, with nearly 30 percent of all students
meeting the standards. Students improved in every grade level. In English,
scores improved by two percentage points, with almost 38-percent reaching
proficiency. Students improved in five out of eight grade levels.
Tim
Duffy, the executive director of the Rhode Island Association of School
Committees, said Rhode Island is moving forward but “not fast enough.”
“The
anxiety about the PARCC seems to have dissipated,” he said. “But the scores are
stagnant at the upper grade levels, which reinforces that the test has to be
part of the graduation requirements.”
Wagner
moved this year to drop the PARCC as a graduation requirement after widespread
criticism that urban students were not adequately prepared to take it, among
other concerns.
The
PARCC, which was originally adopted by 24 states, is down to seven. Rhode Island is the only state
in New England to stick with the test, which has been confounded by technical
problems and a huge opt-out movement in states like New York.
Massachusetts switched to a hybrid of the PARCC and its own test, the MCAS,
this past year.
Wagner
denied that the test is too hard, a common criticism. Instead, he said Rhode
Island has much work to do to put a rigorous curriculum in every school, ramp
up teacher training and redesign the way schools, especially high schools, are
structured.
High-school
students across Rhode Island performed poorly on the tests. In Providence,
every high school but Classical scored in the single digits on the math and
English PARCC tests.
But
it wasn’t just the urban schools that underperformed. At Burrillville High
School, only 17 percent of the students scored proficient on the English test.
In North Kingstown and South Kingstown, approximately a third scored proficient
and in Westerly, 21 percent did.
Wagner
says the tests are not too hard. Surely that can’t be an excuse for the vast
majority that “failed.” Can’t blame poverty.
The
real problem, he says, is that we need to stick with the PARCC no matter how
many kids fail.
Tim
Duffy of the state’s school committees wants PARCC to be a graduation
requirement (Wagner disagrees). What will Rhode Island do with all those kids
who never pass?
At
this point, it would be a very large majority. Will they drop out? Will they
get jobs without a high school diploma? Will they stay in third grade or fourth
grade until they pass? Will third grade become a huge parking lot where few
students make it to fourth grade?
Please,
someone, explain how this would work. And Commissioner Wagner, how many years
will it take until most students in Rhode Island “pass” the PARCC test, a feat
not accomplished by any other state except Massachusetts? Will students with
disabilities stay in school for the rest of their lives?