Gov. Murphy Today Announced Plans to Phase Out PARCC
(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) today commended Gov. Murphy’s recommendation to eliminate some of the PARCC exams used to test student proficiency, as part of a larger plan to begin to transition away from the controversial assessment.
The PARCC was made a graduation requirement for high school students despite being heavily criticized since its inception as a flawed and unfair measurement tool that hurt students.
The governor is proposing a number of changes, including reducing the number of required tests in high school from six to two, ensuring the timely delivery of test data to educators and parents and providing flexibility for first-year English learners on the English language proficiency test.
“This is a step in the right direction. From the moment it was introduced, the PARCC was widely criticized by teachers, school administrators, parents and students for being overly confusing and taking up too much instructional time. We cannot evaluate student proficiency and base a student’s ability to graduate on a flawed system. Students should have to prove that they are ready for graduation, but not through an assessment as inadequate and problematic as the PARCC. I’m glad Gov. Murphy is reversing course on this, and clearing the way for a more effective and responsible approach to measuring student learning.”