T&L Advisor Guest post: Steven M. Baule, Ed.D, Ph.D. Superintendent of North Boone CUSD 200, IL:
Educators should now be ready to join Saturday Night Live’s "not quite ready for prime time" players as districts roll out the first "full iteration" of PARCC testing. From a high of 24 states plus DC, only 12 states and the nation’s capital are still part of the PARCC Consortium and some of those may not fully test this spring. The Chicago Public Schools are only planning to test 10% of their students--effectively defying state and national educational leaders. CPS claims students don't have the necessary access to technology to take the test. Sixty percent of Americans have soured on Common Core and high stakes testing according to a PDK/Gallup poll, so why are legislators still so insistent on enforcing testing mandates? Peter Greene's review of the PARCC isn't complimentary by any stretch. A balanced view of the concerns raised is available from HotChalk. Parents are also trying to remove their children from taking assessments with mixed results in some areas, including Illinois, Louisianna and New Jersey. One of the potential good news items coming out of this controversy may be that state and federal leaders will hear that many of the schools and districts do not have the necessary technology resources and bandwidth to support online testing--and respond accordingly.
