MANSFIELD, Ohio – Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing is a tool utilized to measure whether students are learning what they are supposed to be learning at their grade level, explained Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center Director of Education Cheryl Cronbaugh.
Cronbaugh noted that PARCC testing and Common Core standards are not the same. She added, however, that if Common Core standards are mapped out across grade levels, then PARCC is utilized to measure the effectiveness of those standards.
“The idea is to give you a snapshot of where the student is, and are they progressing at the appropriate pace at which they should be progressing,” said Cronbaugh. “It’s not a judgment statement if someone is smart or not smart.”
PARCC testing includes only English language arts and math, Cronbaugh added. The ELA portion is administered in three sessions and the math in two, with 75 minutes allowed for each session, she said. Cronbaugh said she has heard most students finish in less than 60 minutes.
Many parents are choosing to refuse PARCC testing for their child, downloading online opt-out forms to be signed by administrators.
“There is no state opt-out procedure or form,” said Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Associate Director of Communications John Charlton. “Federal and state laws require all districts and schools to test all students. There is no law that creates a parent or student opt-out of state testing.”
However, he added, “A parent can choose to refuse to let their child take the test, or withdraw their child from participation in state tests. They need to be aware that there are consequences for that child if they do that, and also that there are consequences for the teacher and potentially the school and district as well.”
Charlton noted that, as part of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, third grade students must achieve a score of 394 on the Third Grade Reading Assessment in order to be promoted to fourth grade. “If you are not going to take the test, then you are not going to hit that score, and you are subject to being retained.”
Charlton said that for fourth through eighth grade there really are no significant consequences for students that are not tested.
“Tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders who would refuse to take the Ohio Graduation Test, if they have not passed all five sections of the Ohio Graduation Test, they will not get a high school diploma,” said Charlton.
“PARCC tests, as far as graduation requirements go, are only for ninth graders this year because we are phasing out the OGT and phasing in the new end-of-course exams that are PARCC tests,” said Charlton.
“There are seven of those that a student might take throughout high school at the end of seven different courses. By taking that end-of-course test, you will be assigned a point value between one and five depending on how you score on that test,” continued Charlton. “You have to acquire 17 points in order to receive your high school diploma. If you refuse to take those assessments, you are not going to compile those 17 points you need to graduate.”
In reference to House Bill 7 and how it may affect testing, Charlton said, “I really can’t speculate on a proposed bill.” Though he did note that the bill must pass both houses and then be signed by the governor to be applicable, and even then it takes two months. With PARCC testing currently underway, Charlton noted that it may be difficult to roll things back for the current year.
As Charlton stated, it is not just students who suffer penalties for refusing tests. Districts and teachers face consequences, as well.
“The law says that if a student does not take all applicable federal or state tests, then the funding for that student could be withheld. In addition to that, districts and schools would receive no credit so that could negatively affect the school’s report card grades,” said Charlton.
According to a report, the school’s report card can affect local economic systems as many families and businesses reference these in choosing where to live, locate a business and how to vote on tax levies.
“The teacher evaluations are also based in part on student test scores,” said Charlton, “and if a student does not take the test, that student’s growth is not included in the teacher evaluations.”
Charlton noted that most teachers don’t necessarily need those tests to know their students are performing at grade level, but that teachers feel it is nice to have that confirmation to help parents understand the problem areas.
“I think it’s important to note that we believe state tests are important for measuring student learning and also making sure all students are receiving the quality education they deserve,” said Charlton. “The results from these state tests are how we hold districts accountable, how we hold schools accountable, and how teachers are rated and how we hold them accountable. So we feel they are important, they do inform a lot of decisions.”
“There is no state opt-out procedure or form,” said Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Associate Director of Communications John Charlton. “Federal and state laws require all districts and schools to test all students. There is no law that creates a parent or student opt-out of state testing.”
