PARCC BACK IN ACTION TODAY? WE'LL SEE

Students head back to school this morning hoping the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test is back in operation after two days of glitches, including a complete statewide shutdown on Wednesday.

State officials have said the problem was corrected.

Columbia High School Principal Elizabeth Aaron sent this letter to parents yesterday explaining how the time was used for PARCC students once the test was canceled.

Good morning, CHS.
We  regret to report that problems outside of SOMSD prevented our students from being able to take the PARCC assessment this morning.
When the time came to make a decision about whether or not testing might occur within the designed timeframe, CHS staff quickly pivoted to make the time useful to our 9th graders. Teachers assisted each of our 9th graders in logging into the website of the Khan Academy at www.khanacademy.org to set up a free account for access to online tutorials in all of the key high school content areas, SAT prep and practice, and more.  Students may have used their own gmail address, their SOMSD student account, or another email that they have to do so.  Please discuss this with your students. It would be a good idea for you to take some time to sit with your students and have them show you the site, what they did to create the account, and what different things they can use Khan Academy to learn and do.
We also strongly encourage you, parents and guardians, to set up your own account on Khan. You’ll see where you can do so on their homepage.
Khan has partnered with the College Board to provide a completely free diagnostic assessment on the SAT. Students began that diagnostic assessment this morning, and some even finished. Once completed, students will receive customized tutorials to help improve their performance.  They can log into their account to work on that individualized academic support and practice at any time to become more confident about and be successful on the PSAT and SAT.
We are thrilled that we were able to use this time so effectively, and thank your students for the way they so quickly shifted gears with us to make the time productive.
This partnership between your student, the Khan Academy, and the College Board is an important step to take toward college- and career-readiness.
Please view the California television news clip below to learn more about how schools and students are using this site for their students’ growth.
(Of course, while you watch, please be reminded that at CHS, no drinks or food are allowed in computer labs!)
 (https://youtu.be/AoOKSqWclY4) .
Thank you, once again, for your support of CHS, and especially thanks to our 9th graders.  We will update you on our remaining PARCC schedule when we have that information to share.

Best regards,
Elizabeth Aaron

Columbia High School Home and School Association:  www. columbiahsa.org
Information about logging into the Parent Portal of Powerschool to review your students’ grades and attendance: rvoorhee@somsd.k12.nj.us
School district website:  www.somsd.k12.nj.us