Students in the Mt. Laurel School District are getting a week off from school for spring break the week of April 5.
Likewise, the school district itself is getting a few weeks off from administering the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career, or PARCC test.
The school district, along with others in the state, finished the performance-based assessment on March 27. PARCC will continue with an end-of-year assessment on April 27.
Marie Reynolds, director of communications for Mt. Laurel schools, said the district did a great job administering the test across the board.
Technology was a big concern entering March for many districts. The Mt. Laurel School District made investments in the last few years to upgrade its infrastructure and make sure there was enough technology support staff on call to fix any problems.
Reynolds said there were no major issues with the computers during the test, and whenever any minor issues arose, they were fixed quickly.
“We did not have any major glitches at all,” Reynolds said. “We had a problem with one server during a testing period. We switched right to a backup server.”
Reynolds said the students did a great job using the computers as well. The district’s technology-focused curriculum has helped the students prepare for the test.
“In terms of our technology program and curriculum, they’re doing this stuff,” Reynolds said. “They didn’t have any issues to the technology. They were very adept at it.”
Some of the students participated in a field test last year that helped the district test its technology infrastructure and find ways where it could improve.
The field test didn’t only benefit the district; it benefitted its teachers as well. Reynolds said the field test allowed teachers to get used to the system and helped alleviate concerns heading into this year.
“In terms of technology and what we were going to have to do, it really helped,” she said.
The district also had no problems when it came to students refusing the test. In February, the district announced students who refused to take PARCC would remain in the classroom with their peers and would be permitted to do an alternate activity.
Reynolds said the district’s procedure has worked very well. She added many students who are taking the tests finished early and could also do an alternate activity for the remainder of the testing period.
During the March board of education work session, Superintendent Antoinette Rath said there have not been any disruptions involving students refusing the test. The district does not have figures on how many students participated in the test.
Reynolds said the district is making adjustments for the upcoming testing period so students at Hartford School and Harrington Middle School will miss less of their specialized classes than they did in March.
“For some kids, they were taking a standard amount of time for the tests and then missing a couple days of that specialized class,” Reynolds said.
The district is continuing to provide updated information on PARCC and the upcoming end-of-year assessment at its website, www.mtlaurelschools.org/Program/Curriculum–Assessment/index.html.
