More Than 1,200 Schools Will Take Part in Testing Tryouts

More than 1,200 schools will participate this spring in the first widespread tryouts of the state’s new online testing that will replace the current exams in 2014-15. The state Department of Education released the list of 1,267 public schools and charter schools chosen to field-test different sections of the new exams.

The testing – know as Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) -- will ultimately be administered to students in Grades 3-11 in language arts and math. The tests will be entirely online, replacing and expanding on the state’s current pencil and paper testing, and will be aligned with the new national Common Core State Standards.

Part of a consortium of 19 states, the testing -- coupled with the new standards -- have drawn concern and even opposition from advocates and educators who worry that the state’s schools might be up to the change as planned, both in terms of technology and academic programs. The field testing this spring will offer the first indication of how New Jersey’s students and schools will handle the new tests, although complete results will not be released since they will be taken by only a sampling of students.

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