New Jersey Commissioner of Education David Hespe announced the 2015 statewide PARCC assessments at a news conference yesterday. The scores, Hespe said, show “there is still much work to be done in ensuring all of our students are fully prepared for the 21st century demands of college and career.”
The tests, which were given for the first time last spring to students in grades three through 12, replaced the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) and High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) in English language arts and mathematics.
NJSBA Executive Director Dr. Lawrence S. Feinsod urged boards to use the PARCC results to strengthen instruction and drive student achievement. “For local boards of education, the 2015 PARCC data can serve as an important starting point for an ongoing discussion about improving instruction. We urge our members to work with their administrative teams and teaching staffs to use this information to identify the strengths and weaknesses of curriculum and to ensure that professional development is aligned with the learning needs of their students.”
The assessments were scored on levels one through five; only scores within the levels four and five ranges are considered to meet or exceed expectations. In English Language Arts, 44 percent of grade three students were considered to be performing at or the level that is expected at that grade; the grade 11 results showed 41 percent of test takers in that category. In math scores, some 45 percent of third graders met or exceeded expectations; of the high school students being tested in Algebra II, only 23 percent met the college-and career-ready standard. Below are the statewide results of each grade level tested.
Summary of New Jersey’s 2015 PARCC Outcomes
English Language Arts
| Not Yet Meeting (Level 1) | Partially Meeting (Level 2) | Approaching Expectations (Level 3) | Meeting Expectations (Level 4) | Exceeding Expectations (Level 5) | |
| Grade 3 | 15% | 18% | 24% | 39% | 5% |
| Grade 4 | 8% | 15% | 27% | 39% | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 7% | 15% | 26% | 45% | 6% |
| Grade 6 | 8% | 16% | 28% | 40% | 9% |
| Grade 7 | 11% | 15% | 23% | 34% | 18% |
| Grade 8 | 12% | 15% | 22% | 39% | 13% |
| Grade 9 | 18% | 19% | 24% | 30% | 9% |
| Grade 10 | 26% | 18% | 20% | 25% | 11% |
| Grade 11 | 17% | 19% | 24% | 30% | 11% |
Mathematics
| Not Yet Meeting (Level 1) | Partially Meeting (Level 2) | Approaching Expectations (Level 3) | Meeting Expectations (Level 4) | Exceeding Expectations (Level 5) | |
| Grade 3 | 8% | 19% | 28% | 37% | 8% |
| Grade 4 | 7% | 22% | 30% | 36% | 4% |
| Grade 5 | 6% | 21% | 32% | 35% | 6% |
| Grade 6 | 8% | 21% | 30% | 35% | 6% |
| Grade 7 | 8% | 22% | 33% | 33% | 4% |
| Grade 8* | 22% | 26% | 28% | 23% | 1% |
| Algebra I | 14% | 25% | 25% | 33% | 3% |
| Geometry | 32% | 25% | 20% | 22% | 2% |
| Algebra II | 12% | 36% | 30% | 20% | 3% |
Numbers for charts may not total 100% due to rounding.
* Note: Approximately 30,000 New Jersey students participated in the PARCC Algebra I assessment while in middle school. Thus, PARCC Math 8 outcomes are not representative of grade 8 performance as a whole.
Informing Teaching and Learning
The PARCC tests generated controversy when administered last spring, however Hespe noted that school leaders can use the data to improve instruction by, for example, tailoring professional development for teachers.
That view was affirmed by members of a panel discussion that followed the news conference; the discussion was moderated by Dr. Lawrence S. Feinsod. NJSBA President Don Webster, who sat on the panel discussion at the event, addressed the board’s role in using the PARCC data to assess curriculum, professional development and course materials and also noted that PARCC offered much more in-depth information on student progress than the state’s previous standardized tests, NJASK and HSPA.
More extensive results, including district, school and individual student data, will be released later in the fall.
Information on the PARCC assessments is available at the NJDOE’s assessments web page.