The results of the first year of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test, known as PARCC, are in for Roselle Park, New Jersey, and the nation. The test replaced NJ ASK (New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge). PARCC tests students in nine (9) grade levels from the 3rd grade through their junior year in high school.
PARCC has been controversial with teachers as well as parents. Some educators criticized having the test tied to their evaluations. Some parents felt that emphasis on such standardized testing was detrimental to a student’s overall education. Last year, there had been a vocal cry of protest from some Roselle Park parents to PARCC. There were quite a few who stated they would have their child/children opt out of taking the standardized test. In the end, only 53 of the 2,661 PARCC tests scheduled were not taken for reasons other than students being absent or a medical emergency. 98% of Roselle Park School District (RPSD) students took PARCC.
PARCC has five (5) levels with the two highest, Levels 4 and 5, being the measure of a student adequately grasping concepts deemed appropriate for each grade level. The test is composed of an English Language Arts section and a Math section. Within each of those sections, scores are separated into the following:
- 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
Previous articles showed the percentage of Roselle Park School District (RPSD) students in each grade and in each school that met or exceeded expectations. In order to gauge how Roselle Park did in comparison to surrounding towns in the county, Roselle Park News compiled tables that have the percentage of students that met or exceeded percentage for each of the 21 municipalities in Union County.
In the comparisons below, it should be noted that Garwood, Mountainside, and Winfield Park do not have their own high schools, hence the reason for no grading in those grades. Mountainside students go to Berkeley Heights, Garwood has Clark as their high school, and Winfield students attend high school in Kenilworth. Fanwood and Scotch Plains have the same percentage due to sharing a school district.
Analysis of the English Language Arts section of PARCC per grade level shows that Roselle Park scored higher than the majority of other Union County towns in grades 8, 10, and 11 in the percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations. RPSD performed better – in general – than eight (8) other county town; those municipalities being Elizabeth, Hillside, Kenilworth, Linden, Plainfield, Rahway, Roselle, and Union Township.
| Berkeley Heights | 71.4% | 77.9% | 81.4% | 58.8% | 69.4% | 69.5% | 64.8% | 61.0% | 58.1% |
| Clark | 59.5% | 62.7% | 60.0% | 53.9% | 31.3% | 56.7% | 45.5% | 36.0% | 37.3% |
| Cranford | 64.8% | 72.9% | 73.7% | 66.8% | 71.2% | 83.5% | 47.2% | 37.1% | 58.2% |
| Elizabeth | 26.6% | 32.9% | 32.1% | 34.7% | 39.0% | 36.8% | 27.7% | 27.7% | 41.3% |
| Fanwood | 69.2% | 81.1% | 72.5% | 81.0% | 76.8% | 76.9% | 67.6% | 55.0% | 76.4% |
| Garwood | 53.3% | 57.2% | 44.7% | 47.8% | 64.6% | 68.4% | - | - | - |
| Hillside | 27.2% | 32.2% | 38.7% | 19.9% | 26.3% | 29.8% | 34.3% | 15.6% | 25.0% |
| Kenilworth | 31.8% | 41.5% | 33.4% | 38.7% | 39.2% | 37.9% | 16.3% | 23.3% | 42.0% |
| Linden | 30.0% | 39.2% | 33.8% | 26.6% | 35.4% | 26.0% | 20.2% | 26.0% | 31.1% |
| Mountainside | 58.5% | 67.1% | 67.4% | 57.2% | 70.9% | 55.9% | - | - | - |
| New Providence | 75.2% | 78.9% | 84.7% | 82.7% | 82.4% | 74.0% | 55.3% | 65.4% | 49.3% |
| Plainfield | 16.7% | 27.0% | 27.8% | 21.9% | 22.2% | 27.9% | 9.9% | 16.2% | 11.5% |
| Rahway | 28.1% | 47.4% | 45.2% | 38.6% | 39.2% | 34.1% | 19.5% | 11.2% | 23.2% |
| Roselle | 32.8% | 35.0% | 45.1% | 39.0% | 44.5% | 47.6% | 19.0% | 9.0% | 4.4% |
| Roselle Park | 51.1% | 53.8% | 57.1% | 37.6% | 48.2% | 63.9% | 31.4% | 38.7% | 43.8% |
| Scotch Plains | 69.2% | 81.1% | 72.5% | 81.0% | 76.8% | 76.9% | 67.6% | 55.0% | 76.4% |
| Springfield | 66.7% | 68.6% | 56.2% | 59.8% | 56.7% | 58.5% | 65.0% | 65.4% | 68.5% |
| Summit | 75.4% | 83.2% | 82.5% | 77.8% | 76.7% | 78.6% | 71.8% | 64.2% | 58.1% |
| Union Township | 44.7% | 53.8% | 49.2% | 41.1% | 44.6% | 40.8% | 26.1% | 28.0% | 27.0% |
| Westfield | 71.5% | 78.0% | 75.7% | 64.1% | 72.9% | 71.0% | 44.4% | 43.1% | 42.6% |
| Winfield | 29.4% | 61.5% | 58.3% | 27.8% | 50.0% | - | - | - | - |
RPSD scored higher | 9 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
RPSD scored lower | 11 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
The PARRC Math section only had 8th grade students from Roselle Park schools have more students meet or exceed expectations than the majority of other Union County towns. Math had RPSD perform better than six (7) other municipalities: Elizabeth, Hillside, Kenilworth, Linden, Plainfield, Rahway, and Winfield.
| Berkeley Heights | 77.9% | 71.5% | 76.2% | 54.1% | 42.1% | 22.1% | 47.4% | 41.2% | 41.3% |
| Clark | 53.3% | 54.0% | 39.6% | 45.9% | 32.0% | 29.8% | 35.2% | 2.9% | 20.2% |
| Cranford | 62.3% | 46.9% | 54.2% | 59.0% | 56.0% | 23.2% | 55.2% | 19.0% | 22.7% |
| Elizabeth | 33.5% | 28.6% | 30.7% | 29.5% | 22.6% | 0.0% | 18.1% | 7.1% | 11.9% |
| Fanwood | 66.8% | 65.9% | 61.7% | 66.3% | 62.9% | - | 55.0% | 44.8% | 51.3% |
| Garwood | 55.5% | 58.4% | 31.6% | 32.6% | 40.0% | 50.0% | - | - | - |
| Hillside | 23.4% | 23.4% | 30.4% | 22.6% | 20.1% | 5.6% | 19.9% | 2.6% | 9.1% |
| Kenilworth | 34.1% | 35.3% | 21.3% | 27.7% | 16.2% | 10.8% | 29.5% | 6.7% | 12.9% |
| Linden | 28.6% | 29.6% | 27.9% | 24.4% | 23.2% | 1.0% | 17.0% | 7.5% | 3.7% |
| Mountainside | 70.4% | 56.2% | 54.5% | 42.9% | 36.2% | 25.0% | 59.2% | 0.0% | 89.5% |
| New Providence | 78.1% | 61.2% | 71.8% | 75.0% | 71.8% | 40.9% | 59.5% | 41.4% | 39.5% |
| Plainfield | 19.1% | 20.0% | 17.1% | 12.4% | 10.5% | 10.0% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 3.3% |
| Rahway | 31.2% | 21.2% | 36.2% | 29.6% | 29.9% | 14.5% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 1.5% |
| Roselle | 66.8% | 65.9% | 61.7% | 66.3% | 62.9% | - | 55.4% | 44.6% | 51.3% |
| Roselle Park | 42.5% | 37.9% | 34.7% | 39.6% | 38.0% | 24.0% | 35.2% | 9.0% | 4.5% |
| Scotch Plains | 66.8% | 65.9% | 61.7% | 66.3% | 62.9% | - | 55.0% | 44.8% | 51.3% |
| Springfield | 66.7% | 53.5% | 44.5% | 45.5% | 36.4% | - | 30.4% | 29.0% | 25.1% |
| Summit | 69.2% | 69.2% | 58.0% | 62.0% | 59.8% | 38.8% | 63.0% | 67.5% | 52.5% |
| Union Township | 49.1% | 41.5% | 45.1% | 32.8% | 29.4% | 15.0% | 26.7% | 12.1% | 10.3% |
| Westfield | 68.9% | 66.1% | 63.0% | 64.8% | 59.3% | 30.5% | 70.5% | 40.4% | 62.2% |
| Winfield | 41.2% | 23.1% | 25.0% | 22.2% | 50.0% | - | - | - | - |
RP scored higher | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
RP scored lower | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 15 |
For all schools, these initial PARCC scores will become the baseline form which future progress and concern will be measured.
There was – and still is – some opposition to PARCC being the standard of testing for public school students. Families were told throughout the district, state , and nation that PARCC would not count towards teacher evaluations nor as a requirement for graduation. What was not clearly stated last year was that although PARCC is not a graduation requirement, it can be counted as one of four (4) standardized tests that require a passing grade in order to graduate. New Jersey has postponed PARCC from being mandatory for graduation until the 2020-21 school year.