(TRENTON) – Assembly Education Chairman Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. has invited state Education Commissioner David Hespe and the company administrating the new PARCC exam to Thursday’s Assembly Education Committee hearing to discuss the monitoring of student social media.
Diegnan (D-Middlesex) said he wanted an explanation from the company – Pearson Education Inc. – for reports it has been monitoring the social media of New Jersey students during administration of the PARCC tests, and that it’s then communicating about the monitoring with the state Department of Education.
“Such oversight and the subsequent communication with the Department of Education brings forth a host of issues and questions that warrants an inquiry in a public forum,” Diegnan said. “The public – most especially parents and educators – deserves an explanation. We live in a technological age, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable for a for-profit company and a state department to be spending time and resources watching the social media content of teen-agers and children.”
Thursday’s hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Committee Room 16 on the 4th Floor of the State House Annex in Trenton.
