In its second year, PARCC – which stands for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers – has become the new standardized testing gauge for the state. The PARCC test is composed of a math and a language arts section. The 2015-16 scores for the Roselle Park Scholl District (RPSD) are in and curriculum director James Salvo gave a presentation on the results during the November 15th Board Of Education (BOE) meeting. This article will take information from that presentation and offer more detail on data from the New Jersey Department Of Education (NJDOE).
The scoring for PARCC is separated into five levels:
LEVEL 1: Did Not Yet Meet Grade-Level Expectations
LEVEL 2: Partially Met Grade-Level Expectations
LEVEL 3: Approached Grade-Level Expectations
LEVEL 4: Met Grade-Level Expectations
LEVEL 5: Exceeded Grade-Level Expectations
The 2015-16 school year math results still show that less than 50% of students who tested in math met or exceeded expectations with the exception of 7th graders – more than half of them were levels 4 and 5.
| Grade | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 & 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5.5% | 19.0% | 31.3% | 37.4% | 6.7% | 44.1% |
| 4 | 10.2% | 20.4% | 34.4% | 33.1% | 1.9% | 35.0% |
| 5 | 3.3% | 23.0% | 28.3% | 38.2% | 7.2% | 45.4% |
| 6 | 2.5% | 22.2% | 36.7% | 37.3% | 1.3% | 38.6% |
| 7 | 0.0% | 11.6% | 35.5% | 45.7% | 7.2% | 52.9% |
| 8 | 14.3% | 31.0% | 28.6% | 24.6% | 1.6% | 26.2% |
| Algebra I | 8.4% | 18.6% | 32.3% | 38.9% | 1.8% | 40.7% |
| Geometry | 3.9% | 34.1% | 43.4% | 18.6% | 0.0% | 18.6% |
| Algebra II | 30.8% | 32.9% | 22.6% | 13.0% | 0.7% | 13.7% |
Although not provided in Mr. Salvo’s presentation, the raw numbers from NJDOE break down PARCC math results per school. With this data, more than half of Sherman School’s third graders and 3 out of every 5 fifth graders from Robert Gordon School met or exceeded expectations. In the middle school, 38 of the 40 students who took the Algebra I test were in levels 4 and 5.
| Grade | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 & 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6.4% | 19.1% | 36.2% | 36.2% | 2.1% | 38.3% |
| 4 | 8.3% | 18.8% | 43.8% | 27.1% | 2.1% | 29.2% |
| 5 | 4.3% | 26.1% | 30.4% | 37.0% | 2.2% | 39.2% |
| 3 | 8.0% | 26.0% | 28.0% | 34.0% | 4.0% | 38.0% |
| 4 | 15.7% | 21.6% | 35.3% | 27.5% | 0.0% | 27.5% |
| 5 | 2.4% | 4.9% | 31.7% | 46.3% | 14.6% | 60.9% |
| 3 | 3.0% | 13.6% | 30.3% | 40.9% | 12.1% | 53.0% |
| 4 | 6.9% | 20.7% | 25.9% | 43.1% | 3.4% | 46.5% |
| 5 | 3.1% | 32.3% | 24.6% | 33.8% | 6.2% | 40.0% |
| 6 | 2.5% | 22.2% | 36.7% | 37.3% | 1.3% | 38.6% |
| 7 | 0.0% | 11.6% | 35.5% | 45.7% | 7.2% | 52.9% |
| 8 | 14.3% | 31.0% | 28.6% | 24.6% | 1.6% | 26.2% |
| Algebra I | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5.0% | 87.5% | 7.5% | 95.0% |
| Algebra I | 11.0% | 24.4% | 40.9% | 23.6% | 0.0% | 23.6% |
| Geometry | 3.9% | 34.1% | 43.4% | 18.6% | 0.0% | 18.6% |
| Algebra II | 30.8% | 32.9% | 22.6% | 13.0% | 0.7% | 13.7% |
A comparison of the first year of PARCC and 2015-16 reveals that there were improvements in the percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations. The only decline occurred in the 4th and 7th grade which had less than a 10% decrease in students who achieved levels 4 and 5.
In his presentation, Mr. Salvo presented the differences of students who met or exceeded expectations by adding or subtracting percentages between years. Matthew Leingang, at that meeting, stated that the percentage change between years should have been divided to accurately determine the differences. This newspaper concurs with Mr. Leingang and presents the following percentage change between the first and second years of PARCC.
| Grade | (+/-) |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3.8% |
||
| 4 | -7.7% |
||
| 5 | 30.8% |
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| 6 | -2.5% |
||
| 7 | 39.2% |
||
| 8 | 9.2% |
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| Algebra I | 15.6% |
||
| Geometry | 313.3% |
||
| Algebra II | 52.2% |
Those students who were level 4 and above per school show that EJF/Aldene School had a decline in all its grades while Robert Gordon had a decline in its 4th grade. Sherman School and Roselle Park High School (RPHS) had improvements in all grade levels.
| Grade | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 41.9% | 38.3% | -8.6% |
| 4 | 40.0% | 29.2% | -27.0% |
| 5 | 39.6% | 39.2% | -1.0% |
| 3 | 33.3% | 38.0% | 14.1% |
| 4 | 46.4% | 27.5% | -40.7% |
| 5 | 25.0% | 60.9% | 143.6% |
| 3 | 51.0% | 53.0% | 3.9% |
| 4 | 30.6% | 46.5% | 52.0% |
| 5 | 37.7% | 40.0% | 6.1% |
| 6 | 39.6% | 38.6% | -2.5% |
| 7 | 38.0% | 52.9% | 39.2% |
| 8 | 24.0% | 26.2% | 9.2% |
| Algebra I | 95.5% | 95.0% | -0.5% |
| Algebra I | 8.9% | 23.6% | 165.2% |
| Geometry | 9.0% | 18.6% | 106.7% |
| Algebra II | 4.5% | 13.7% | 204.4% |
In comparing Roselle Park with other school districts in the same district factor group (DFG) – classification DE – RPSD’s percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations was less than other comparable schools in grades 3 through 6 and for students who took Geometry and Algebra II. Roselle Park fared better than districts with the same grouping in grades 7 and 8 as well as those students who took the Algebra I test.
| Grade | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 44.1% | 51.2% |
| 4 | 35.0% | 44.5% |
| 5 | 45.4% | 45.8% |
| 6 | 38.6% | 40.6% |
| 7 | 52.9% | 35.9% |
| 8 | 26.2% | 22.6% |
| Algebra I | 40.7% | 36.1% |
| Geometry | 18.6% | 20.3% |
| Algebra II | 13.7% | 18.7% |
As far as the statewide average percentage, RPSD had a higher percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations than the state average for only grades 7 and 8.
| Grade | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 44.1% | 51.7% |
| 4 | 35.0% | 46.6% |
| 5 | 45.4% | 47.2% |
| 6 | 38.6% | 42.9% |
| 7 | 52.9% | 38.7% |
| 8 | 26.2% | 25.6% |
| Algebra I | 40.7% | 41.2% |
| Geometry | 18.6% | 27.0% |
| Algebra II | 13.7% | 25.1% |
Mr. Salvo also presented a comparison table between graduating classes for the elementary schools. In other words, the student body that was in 3rd grade last year would be fourth graders this year. The Director Of Curriculum again added or subtracted the percentage differences. Roselle Park News divided those percentages to present an accurate change.
| Grade | Grade | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Grade | 42.5% | 4th Grade | 35.0% | -17.6% |
| 4th Grade | 37.9% | 5th Grade | 45.4% | 19.8% |
| 5th Grade | 34.7% | 6th Grade | 38.6% | 11.2% |
| 6th Grade | 39.6% | 7th Grade | 52.9% | 33.6% |
| 7th Grade | 38.0% | 8th Grade | 42.8% | 12.6% |
Even though these tests are not to be the sole determining factor of productive instruction on the part of educators or successful learning on the part of students, it is one gauge that will become a requirement for graduation.
A more in-depth analysis of the data provided by the state will be provided in subsequent articles.
A copy of Mr. Salvo’s presentation is available below: