Within the past two weeks, our very own Lakeview High School has administered the PARCC tests to the eighth graders and freshmen. With this being the first school year these assessments have been put into effect, some of us, including myself, probably have no clue what they are. Also, since us juniors haven't been affected by them (not yet, at least) we most likely don't know what they are or what they are trying to accomplish. All I know is that they caused our lunch times to switch around and they prevented us from having another calamity day this week. But what is the purpose of these tests?
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC as we call it, is a coalition of states that work "together to develop a set of assessments that measure whether students are on track to be successful in college and their careers." Included in the group are Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The PARCC tests are computer based and assess students in grades K-12 in the fields of math and English. The main goal of the new standardized tests are to test students on the information they are expected to learn in each grade level and to make sure they are on the right track to prepare for college. Teachers are now being expected to teach students all the material on the tests in order to "meet student needs." The main material on these assessments are the new common core standards, which are meant to provide students with "college and career readiness." All in all, PARCC tests are assessments of the upcoming standards that aim to prepare students for their education paths after high school.
What's my opinion on PARCC testing? I guess I think there's both advantages and disadvantages to the new tests. I believe these assessments can be beneficial to students because they overall help students learn and increase their preparedness for college and future careers. PARCC tests do this by testing students on the most recent standards that they could need to learn for higher levels of education. Since the tests "are aligned with the new, more rigorous Common Core State Standards (CCSS), they ensure that every child is on a path to college and career readiness by measuring what students should know at each grade level." Although I do think the PARCC tests are beneficial to those taking them, I believe there are disadvantages as well. Students may feel overwhelmed and stressed from these tests. For example, our underclassmen here at Lakeview have been taking the PARCC tests for four straight days. I understand that these are two completely different tests, but last year as a sophomore I took the OGT's for five days in a row. My classmates and I have been there: the stress, the worry of not doing well and the feeling of being too pressured to do well. Imagine what the underclassmen must feel at this point. Instead, these PARCC tests should have been spread out throughout the school year. This new system of standardized testing can both be good and bad to the students taking it, but that doesn't change the fact that students of all grades across the country have to get used to them.
This blog post really helped me understand more of what the PARCC tests are all about Natalie! I like how you made the set up of this post by first hooking the reader in and giving a little hint of what the post is about. You then gave a very detailed and informative explanation on the tests and I like I you closed it off with your opinion on it. The post was very good overall but I would love to hear more of what you think about it especially because you did the research and know what it's all about. I found logos to be very prominent in this post due to all of the credible sources you mentioned and quoted which also helped build your ethos and credibility. This really helped me feel confident that you were feeding me accurate information. I also really liked the voice you used by sounding formal and proper but while you did that you were able to incorporate your own voice that showed your opinion without sounding too biased and unprofessional. As to my opinion on PARCC testing, I agree with you mostly but I also feel like it hurts the student more than helps. These tests like you said are using the highest standards and at only a little over halfway through the year, I find it nearly impossible for teachers to teach their students ALL of the information they need to know for the test. Rather than taking their time making sure every student understands a topic, they are probably rushing through everything to try and get all standards covered before the tests which in turn would end up hurting the student if they don't know what's going on. Your blog post really opened my mind to start thinking about the education system we have today and I enjoyed reading this post, thanks Natalie!
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