This spring, hundreds of students at Lake Forest High School took the PARCC test, and things went for the most part went smoothly, according to district officials.
The PARCC, or Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career, is intended to be a more rigorous test than the Illinois State Achievement Test, or ISAT, which it replaces.
This is the first update in learning standards in Illinois since 1997, according to the website of the Illinois State Board of Education.
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The results of the PARCC test were recently released by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Pioneer Press spoke with Barry Rodgers, assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and technology, to ask about the implementation of the evaluation.
Q. How did PARCC testing in District 115 go this year?
A. I think the actual rollout went well. We were able to administer the test 100 percent online to students.
Q. What, if any difficulties or challenges did the district have in implementing the test?
A. Just the sheer number of testing days. There are actually two testing windows – spring and end of the school year. We were able to minimize the time of lost instruction time for our students.
Q. What changes would you like to see made to the evaluation of the test?
A. At this particular time, it should not be used as an evaluation tool but rather to establish a baseline on a new standard. It’s the first test. There is nothing to compare [results] to. We’ll let its validity and reliability appear over time.
Q. How is the district viewing its results from this year’s test, as successes or as showing more work to do?
A. It does not show students have had any decrease in their academic performance in any way.
Q. What plans does District 115 have for next year’s test?
A. For the spring of 2016, the Illinois State Board of Education has taken feedback from parents and school administrators in making some adjustments to the structure of the test. As a result, we’re reducing it from two testing windows to one. We’re also optimistic because students have established familiarity with the PARCC test. [Also] ideally you want the test results returned in a timely manner. We’re told that when we complete the test in spring 2016, we’ll get the results in June.
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