Supervisor of Curriculum Craig Ogelby recently gave the Haddonfield Board of Education a presentation on the district Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers scores, covering student participation, district scores compared to state scores, how the data will be looked at and changes for the next PARCC testing in 2016.
Overall, Haddonfield Public Schools performed either at or above the state scores, except in algebra I. The presentation also revealed that 25 percent of students who were able to take the test refused or had invalid test scores, the highest being in 11th grade with 73 percent of students refusing or having invalid scores.
“You’re going to see the scores are lower this year. It is a completely different test because it is more complex in what it is asking children to do. Therefore, the first-year scores are the new baseline. We can’t compare last year’s scores,” Ogelby said.
In the 2014–2015 academic year, New Jersey adopted the PARCC to replace the HSPA and previous assessments in the elementary and middle schools, based on the Common Core standards. The PARCC tests were split into English/language arts and math sections and taken by students in third to 11th grade. The assessment system was to determine whether students were “on track” for college or career readiness.
Ogelby stressed the importance of taking the test, as it is required by the state, provides detailed score information for parents and teachers, and some colleges may use the test for admission. PARCC also can provide information for support and instruction for students, report comparable results across districts and use technology for a range of purposes.
“I think it is important for parents and the community to understand it is a very important and informative assessment,” Ogelby said.
The PARCC at Haddonfield Public Schools saw a total of 446 refusals/invalid test scores of the 1,823 students grades three to 11 enrolled as of March.
Corinne Welsh, of the Haddonfield Education Association and an English teacher, said the high number of refusals in 11th grade might have been test fatigue, as they had to worry about SAT/ACT as well as AP tests.
The PARCC assessment used five performance levels that delineated the knowledge, skills and practices students are able to demonstrate. The levels were 1: did not meet expectations, 2: partially met expectations, 3: approaching expectations, 4: met expectations, and 5: exceeded expectations. District scores were broken down by grade level and percentage of students receiving each level.
The outcomes of the PARCC assessment at HPS saw the district generally exceeded state percentages that met or were greater than level 4 in English/language arts and math. For English/language arts, grades three to 11 all saw the highest percentages in level 4. For math, grades three through seven, it was the same.
However, math for eighth grade was split between algebra I, geometry and algebra II. On those tests, the highest percentage levels were in the level 3 or 4 category. Compared to the state, Haddonfield had a higher percentage results in level 4 or higher in geometry and algebra II, but not in algebra I.
“We expected the algebra (results) because of the course sequencing; we’ve been low this year. We are also realigning the courses themselves. We are expecting higher scores (this school year),” Ogelby said.
The district will send district PARCC information and student reports next week, around Dec. 18, with a cover letter to all parents presenting not only a report for those who tested, but also those who refused. The hope is to let parents get more understanding of the PARCC and encourage students to take it, according to Ogelby.
The district will use the PARCC data to identify strengths and gaps that exist in curriculum and instruction, inform the conversations of educators when discussing student progress and discuss where additional professional resources are needed to meet learning needs.
Test changes for this academic year include one testing window, 90 minutes overall reductions to tests and fewer test units. The PARCC assessment previously was over two testing windows in March and April. Test units were also reduced to three English/language arts units and three or four math units.
There are parent resources for understanding PARCC and their children’s individual PARCC scores available on the presentation at the HPS website, www.haddonfield.k12.nj.us.
In other news:
• BOE members Maureen Eyles and Dennis Kelleher were honored with heart-warming speeches by Superintendent Richard Perry and members of the board as it was their last meeting on Haddonfield’s BOE.
• During the HMHS Spirit Week, classes collected more than 7,000 pounds of canned food and raised more than $23,000 for charities Autism Speaks, Kids Alley, Go4TheGoal and The Brooke Mulford Foundation.
• Fourteen students from Haddonfield Memorial High School were named National Merit Scholars for their scores on the PSAT.
• The Communications Committee has been working hard to get some sort of communications to the public, especially for the upcoming bond referendum, with a vote scheduled on March 8. The district will be creating an interactive website, having tours in the elementary schools and reaching out to public organizations to help with communication. The website is expected to be live by Jan. 15. The district also will be sending informational packets to members of the public who don’t normally receive communication from the schools.
• The next BOE meeting will include a reorganization meeting, inducting two new members, Adam M. Sangillo and Joshua Drew, along with current BOE member Susan Kutner officially onto the board on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. in the HMHS library.
