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Reacting to Governor Phil Murphy’s announcement today on PARCC, Better Education for Kids and JerseyCAN released the following statement:
“Assessments provide an objective measure on how successful a community at large is in educating its students. Eliminating tests is a disservice to vulnerable student populations and communities. We need a tool to determine if we are meeting the needs of minority and economically disadvantaged children as compared to students in affluent communities,” stated Shelley Skinner, Executive Director of Better Education for Kids. “The voices of the affluent suburban communities like SOS that are vocal critics of PARCC cannot replace a data-driven discussion.”
“With approximately only half of New Jersey students performing at proficient levels on PARCC and NAEP, now is not the time to be watering down our State’s assessment,” added Patricia Morgan, Executive Director of JerseyCAN. “Statistics indicate that nearly 60% of New Jersey students are unprepared for college. Assessments help us determine what steps we as a State need to take to help them be successful. The elimination of tests in certain grades will result in lost data that could prove helpful in designing an educational system that fits the needs of every student regardless of their zip code.”
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