NJPSA Executive Director Pat Wright released the following statement regarding the release of the PARCC scores:
In response to today’s release of state level PARCC scores, NJPSA Executive Director Pat Wright stated, “As we examine today’s score release in this transitional year, we need to understand that these scores represent the setting of a new baseline on a new assessment aligned to higher academic standards – not a comparison to performance on past assessments. When schools receive their data reports, educators across New Jersey will roll up their sleeves and begin the important work of analyzing the PARCC data in the context of our students, our classrooms and our schools. The purpose of assessment is to help us identify our students’ strengths and weaknesses, tailor our instruction to meet individual learning needs and drive improvements in our curriculum, instruction and assessments. Such data, especially the individual student results on specific test items that we will receive in a few months, is exactly the type of student performance information that New Jersey educators have been demanding for years.
This is one step in a journey. We have been on these journeys before. Every time the standards in NJ have been raised and more rigorous assessments were used to determine student progress, we have seen a dip in performance. But NJ educators have used those opportunities to reassess their practice – all with an eye on ensuring that our students could continue to be successful in an ever changing world. Because we have the best schools in the nation and because they are filled with dedicated professionals, we will see these scores improve over time and we will realize the goal of graduating all students ready for college and career.”