Ensuring Students Stay on Track

Parents, Don’t ‘Opt Out’ of Transparency in Our Schools

By Pamela Norton, Education Post

March 17, 2015

“I am a parent of two children, who were students at what I thought were high performing public schools. However, after my oldest graduated, I was shocked to learn that she didn’t have many of the skills needed to succeed in college. Since then, I also realized my son is behind in high school. How could a school be labeled as an A+ school yet still have 40 percent of its students needing some sort of remedial education? That doesn’t sound like an A+ to me.

“Past assessments failed to accurately measure the college readiness of my children, and in turn led me to be a misinformed parent. PARCC is a positive solution to this very real problem. Unlike other assessments, PARCC goes beyond testing a student’s memory. Instead it assesses skills like problem-solving, collaboration, communication and critical thinking.”

And,

“The transparency provided by the annual test can help flag if a student needs to work on those skills before they get to college. It can also flag if there is a school that is making improvements—and celebrate that. And it enables the state to know if they need to intervene when schools need improvement. This can’t be done without a statewide assessment taken by all students.”

New standards and tests are worth the effort

By Gina Dalma, EdSource

March 1, 2015

“The new tests, known as the Smarter Balanced assessments, will be significantly different from what our students are used to – and much more interesting than the tests students have been taking until now. Standardized bubble tests will be replaced by tests that allow students to show much more precisely what they know and are able to do.

“Our students will be challenged with assessments that measure how deeply they are able to understand the concepts and, more importantly, use their knowledge to solve real-life problems.”

And,

“Nevertheless, real magic is happening in thousands of classrooms all over our state as a result of the new Common Core standards. These new standards, along with teachers prepared to implement them and the assessments to see whether students are benefiting from them, hold real promise for offering our kids an education that will prepare them for college, careers and life.”

I’m a Colorado educator and I helped build the PARCC math exams

By Joanie Funderbunk, Chalkbeat Colorado

March 17, 2015

“…I learned that PARCC is built upon an evidence-based design: starting with the standards, identifying the specific skills and knowledge the standards require, then designing tests and items that align to those knowledge and skills. We also had the opportunity to collaborate with, learn from, and share resources with hard-working educators in other PARCC states, and we learned how much of the actual detail around giving the test was a state decision, and that we could make the best decisions for Colorado.”

And,

“It is important to remember that we have new tests because we have new standards. These new standards are not just a reshuffling of content; they are transformational in that they ask us to engage all students in learning experiences that are proven to be aligned to college and career readiness.”