PARCC tests' scores shockingly low in R.I.

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

By Linda Borg & Paul Edward Parker
Journal Staff Writer  

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Only about one in three students met state standards in English and only one in four did so in math, according to the results of a new standardized test that has generated considerable parental opposition nationwide.

Parents who are used to seeing their children’s test scores improve every year may be stunned by these results. In 2013-2014, the last year that the old test, New England Common Assessment Program, was administered, nearly 72 percent of Rhode Island students were proficient in reading and 61 percent were proficient in math.

The new test, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), was administered to all Rhode Island students for the first time in 2015. Seventy-five thousand students in grades 3 through 10 took the tests, 80 percent of them took it on a computer.

State educators, however, cautioned the public against reading too much into these scores because the PARCC is more challenging than the previous test. Moreover, this was the first time that many students took the assessment on a computer (the PARCC was given to a smaller number of students in 2014). And education leaders said scores typically fall whenever a new test is rolled out.

Still, some of the results are troubling: in Providence, less than 10 percent of students met or exceeded state expectations in math. Only 5.2 percent did so in Central Falls, a district that has been working closely with Rhode Island College and neighboring charter schools to boost student achievement.

State education Commissioner Ken Wagner said “These results show, once again, that we have work today.”

“It should come as no surprise that the Central Falls community faces unique challenges as we strive to improve our schools,” said Central Falls Supt. Victor Capellan. “I know that the people of this community care deeply about the quality of education in our schools. The PARCC results show us that we have a long road to travel….”

“Just as no student can be measured by the result of one test, we can’t measure the performance of a school or school district by one test alone,” said Interim Providence Supt. Chris N. Maher. “The results today provide one piece of valuable data that can help us work together toward school improvement."

A couple of districts, Scituate and Burrillville, had exceptionally low rates of student participation in the PARCC, possibly because of strong parental opposition to the test.

In Scituate, considered a high-performing district, only 25 percent of its high school students took the math test and not one of them met the standard. In Burrillville, only 60 percent of students took the tests in math and English.

Last spring, Scituate Supt. Lawrence Filippelli said he was worried that low participation rates would affect his school rankings.

“It’s a nightmare,” he said in March. “Essentially my commended schools are no longer going to be commended.”

According to federal law, 95 percent of a school’s students must take the test or else they can drop a rung in their ranking. Because this is the first year of PARCC testing, no school will drop into “warning” status or lower. However, a commended school could lose its standing if it doesn’t hit the 95 percent participation mark.

In English language arts, only four districts, Barrington, East Greenwich, the Compass Charter School and the Kingston Hill Charter School, had 70 percent or more their students meet expectations in English.

Of the 287 schools that participated in the test, only 13 had at least 70 percent of its students meet or exceed the standards in English

In math, only six districts had 50 percent or more students meet or exceed the standards: East Greenwich, Barrington, Jamestown, South Kingstown, Exeter-West Greenwich and one charter school, Blackstone Valley Prep, a network of schools in northern Rhode Island.

Also in math, only four schools had 70 percent or more students meet or exceed the standards: Nayatt Elementary School in Barrington and three elementary schools in South Kingstown.

Meanwhile, the achievement gaps between poor students and middle-income students, white students and students of color, remain alarmingly wide: Less than 20 percent of black and Latino students have met or exceeded the standard in English compared to nearly 45 percent of white students.

In math, less than 11 percent of black and Latino students have met or exceeded the standard compared to nearly 33 percent of white students.

More than twice as many middle and upper income students reached the standard in English than students from low-income families. In math, three times as many middle and upper income students outperformed disadvantaged students.  have concerns about the use of the PARCC assessments and the validity of the results and for this reason I am grateful that Commissioner Wagner has opened the conversation about the use of assessments as a graduation requirement,” said Tracy Ramos, director of Parents Across Rhode Island.

Many charter schools who performed well in the past struggled with this test, which is shared with 8 other states and Washington, D.C. Only Blackstone Valley Prep scored within the top 25 percent in English and the top six schools in math.