The state Department of Education released PARCC results for individual districts and schools late last week, several weeks after statewide scores for the new assessment were released (NJDOE Release Additional PARCC Info, State Board Approves Cut Scores – Updated Grad Requirements Announced, November 5, 2015). The new data also allows the public to see how individual campuses stack up against statewide scores.
The newly released information also makes it easier to identify which schools had large amounts of students that refused to take the assessment. Last month, the Department of Education indicated that about 14 percent of school districts and other testing sites that administered PARCC reported that more than half the students did not take the exams for reasons other than being absent or due to a medical emergency. The percentage of students in this category rose steadily with each grade level, according to the Department of Education. White and non-economically disadvantaged students also were more likely to appear in this category. But it’s unclear why these students refused to take the PARCC assessment.