Last May, fourth-grade students across the Mt. Laurel School district were deep in concentration as they took the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge, the standardized test for students in grades three through 11.
However, in a fourth-grade classroom at Parkway Elementary, Amanda Morris didn’t take the test. She sat quietly as her classmates labored over the NJASK’s math, reading and science assessments.
Amanda’s mother, Kelley Ann Morris, did not permit her daughter to take last year’s NJASK test. Amanda will not take a standardized test again this year when Mt. Laurel and other school districts around the state switch to The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, test.
Kelley Ann is against standardized testing for a number of reasons. She said the schools use too much time on test prep and it takes away from other learning activities.
“I want her to go to school and enjoy what she’s learning about,” Kelley Ann said.
Kelley Ann also feels the scores for the tests come in so late, teachers can’t use them to help the students. Scores on the NJASK were not made available to schools until September of the next school year.
“We never get the test scores back until almost September,” Kelley Ann said. “So they’re not informing the teacher anything about our child. I know how Amanda does because I trust the teachers and the assessments they give are valid.”
With PARCC beginning this year, Kelley Ann has additional concerns. She said students have had to take additional computer and keyboarding lessons to prepare for the test, which is taken entirely on the computer. She said subjects such as social studies and science have suffered because of this, because those two subjects are not part of the PARCC test.
“I don’t agree with the changes being made just because of one test,” Kelley Ann said.
Kelley Ann’s decision has nothing to do with Amanda’s test-taking abilities. She describes her daughter as a bright student and said she scored advanced proficient when she took the NJASK math test in third grade.
The Mt. Laurel School District has firmly said the state Department of Education requires it to administer the test. In a letter sent to parents on Jan. 22, Superintendent Antoinette Rath reaffirmed this requirement.
“We are compelled to administer the PARCC test to students in grades three to eight, both mid-year and at year’s end,” Rath wrote in the letter. “Here in Mt. Laurel, we stand ready to do that.”
According to district director of communications Marie Reynolds said there is not an option to “opt-out” of the PARCC test, but a student can refuse to take the test if they so choose. Rath reaffirmed this in her letter.
“Students who refuse to take the test are simply asked to remain respectful while their classmates complete their test packets,” Rath wrote in the letter.
Kelley Ann has asked the Mt. Laurel School District to create a policy giving Amanda and other children who choose to not take the test an alternative activity. She said last year, her daughter was forced to sit in the classroom while students took the NJASK.
“They chose to keep her in the classroom,” Kelley Ann said. “I suggested you send her in the library to read.”
Reynolds said the district doesn’t have the staff available to put kids who are not taking the test into a separate area.
“We don’t have the staff available to do alternate placement,” she said.
Kelley Ann said opposition to PARCC is growing. A Facebook group she belongs to, called United Opt Out Burlington County, has grown to more than 100 members. Kelley Ann said she has spoken to other Mt. Laurel parents who are considering having their kids not take the test.
Her message to parents is to research PARCC and make the decision right for your child.
“It’s worth investigating and trying it yourself,” Kelley Ann said.
