Dear Parents and Guardians:
Beginning the end of March, students in grades 3-11 will participate in the PARCC assessments. PARCC will continue to provide parents and educators with detailed information about individual student progress and academic growth in English Language Arts and Mathematics. This data is also important to the district as it helps us to highlight areas of strength and those in need of improvement as we strive to continually advance the quality of our educational programming. Furthermore, the PARCC assessments at the high school level boast a strong correlation, in both substance and format, to the SAT. Currently, both the PARCC and the SAT are two of several ways that students can fulfill the standardized testing mandate and earn the score they need to graduate high school for the class of 2018. However, over the course of the next few years, the graduation requirements are transitioning to include only a passing score on select PARCC assessments. Therefore, failure to sit for the exam this year may impact your child’s ability to graduate in 2020 and beyond.
Graduation Assessment Requirement for the Class of 2020 The Class of 2020 can demonstrate graduation assessment proficiency through the same alternative means (PSAT, ACT, Accuplacer, ASVAB, etc.) as those in the Classes of 2016 through 2019, if students in the Class of 2020 take ALL PARCC assessments associated with the high-school level courses for which they were eligible. “Eligible” is defined as a student who is enrolled in a high-school level course for which there is a PARCC test. This includes all the following courses: Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, ELA 9, ELA 10, and ELA 11.
Instances
where students who do not meet the graduation assessment requirement
via PARCC testing AND who fail to take ALL PARCC assessments for which
they are eligible, for any reason, will result in the inability to
utilize any of the alternative methods to meet the graduation assessment
requirement. This updated information from the NJ Department of
Education underscores the importance of taking the PARCC assessments for
which students are eligible.
Graduation Assessment Requirement for the Classes of 2021 and Beyond
The Classes of 2021 and beyond must demonstrate graduation assessment proficiency by scoring a passing score on both the ELA 10 and Algebra I PARCC assessments. If students are unable to pass one or both of those assessments, they will be able to utilize the portfolio appeals process to meet the assessment requirements, but only if they take ALL PARCC assessments associated with the high-school level courses for which they were eligible. “Eligible” is defined as a student who is enrolled in a high- school level course for which there is a PARCC test. This includes all of the following courses: Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, ELA 9, ELA 10, and ELA 11.
We urge you to please see the state transition table on the Director of Education's website or through this link:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/parents/GradReg.Pdf
While we do encourage you to allow your child to take the PARCC, we also understand that some parents may decide that the PARCC is not something they would like their child to take. Legally, we are not able to provide parents with an option to opt out of the state required testing program. However, we also realize that some parents may not want their children to take the PARCC and we have a procedure in place, you simply need to send a letter to your building principal no later than Friday, March 10, 2017. If refusing, please notify the building principal as early as possible to enable the district to make the necessary entries into the PARCC system and establish testing logistics for the building.
Sincerely,
John J. Ramos
Dr. John J. Ramos
Superintendent of Schools
The Classes of 2021 and beyond must demonstrate graduation assessment proficiency by scoring a passing score on both the ELA 10 and Algebra I PARCC assessments. If students are unable to pass one or both of those assessments, they will be able to utilize the portfolio appeals process to meet the assessment requirements, but only if they take ALL PARCC assessments associated with the high-school level courses for which they were eligible. “Eligible” is defined as a student who is enrolled in a high- school level course for which there is a PARCC test. This includes all of the following courses: Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, ELA 9, ELA 10, and ELA 11.
We urge you to please see the state transition table on the Director of Education's website or through this link:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/parents/GradReg.Pdf
While we do encourage you to allow your child to take the PARCC, we also understand that some parents may decide that the PARCC is not something they would like their child to take. Legally, we are not able to provide parents with an option to opt out of the state required testing program. However, we also realize that some parents may not want their children to take the PARCC and we have a procedure in place, you simply need to send a letter to your building principal no later than Friday, March 10, 2017. If refusing, please notify the building principal as early as possible to enable the district to make the necessary entries into the PARCC system and establish testing logistics for the building.
Sincerely,
John J. Ramos
Dr. John J. Ramos
Superintendent of Schools
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