Many parents and students were worried for the PARCC test this year. What is the PARCC might you ask?
Well the PARCC (pronounced park) is the latest state test given to children who are in third grade and up. This test focuses more on what children learned rather then what they memorized. 2015 was the first year P.A.R.C.C was ever given. PARCC stands for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. Last year, the state test was called the NJASK and that was taken on paper. The PARCC this year was taken on computers.
I have interviewed two teachers and one student.
I interviewed my neighbor and good friend, Mia Morejon. She too is 10 years old and is now going into fifth grade.
I asked my first question, “Were you scared for the PARCC?” Mia replied very confidently, “I was. I was very scared and nervous. I kept thinking to myself, ‘As long as I try hard, I’ll do fine.’ ”
My next question to Mia was, “Did you like taking the state test better on the computer or on paper better, why or why not?”
“I like taking the state test on the computer better because I think it is the easier way,” she said. You can just click your answers and type them too, without having to write them on paper.” “Okay Mia, last question. Do you think the teachers were secretly nervous for their students?” “Umm, maybe. I think the teachers were a bit nervous for us but they kept their cool.”
“As long as I try hard, I’ll do fine.” – Mia Morejon
____________
Mr. R is a fourth grade teacher and Mrs. K is a basic skills teacher who teaches grades fourth and fifth. Both are teachers in New Jersey and gave the PARCC this year. I asked both teachers if they believed that their students were nervous.
Confidence in their students
They both agreed and said “yes” because the students directly told them that they were nervous. The teachers did not want to talk to their students too much about the test because they did not want to stress their students out.
My next question was, did they feel nervous for their students? They both said that they were not nervous because they were confident in their students. I then asked if they thought their students were properly prepared for the PARCC. Both teachers said that they prepared their students as best as they could, so they believed that their students were as prepared as they could be.
Too many tests?
Next question was, “Do you think that the students of today are tested too frequently?”
They both agree on this as well. “Kids cannot be kids and us as teachers do not have enough time to cover all of the lessons,” one of them said.
My last question was, “What were your biggest concerns about the PARCC?” Mr. R said, “I didn’t really have ‘concerns’ – actually I did. I just worried that the technology wasn’t going to work, but everything worked out fine.”
Mrs. K said “Seeing the questions, I thought maybe the kids weren’t given enough time to complete everything. Also the wording of some of the questions I thought might be difficult.”
In my opinion, the PARCC had some challenging questions, and some easy questions. I liked the PARCC a bit more than the NJASK. The PARCC I feel is more futuristic, but the NJASK was more challenging than the PARCC. I personally like a challenge.
I feel that my classmates liked the PARCC better too because it was on the computer rather than paper. Some questions might be hard, but if you pay attention in class and you try hard, it makes things a lot easier like it was for me.
Remember to listen, pay attention, and always, always, always try your best!
After all, even though people said it would be hard, the PARCC really wasn’t that bad.
Dallas Hannon lives in West New York and wanted to be a reporter, so we’re happy to have her aboard! If you’re a kid and you want to write about local life too, email editorial@Hudsonreporter.com and put your town in the subject head. And let’s give Dallas a hand for excellent writing!