The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) has a new website.
On May 02, 2017, one could still access the old link for the PARCC governing board (archived here)– the one listing Hanna Skandera as the PARCC governing board chair.
On July 02, 2017, the old PARCC governing board link was still active (archived here), but with DC superintendent, Hanseul Kang listed as chair. Skandera is still listed as New Mexico education superintendent, despite her having resigned effective June 20, 2017.
Interestingly, Skandera continues to be listed as NM ed sec on the new PARCC web page, now called parccgoverningboard.org., despite her “passing the reins” to NM deputy ed sec, Christopher Ruszkowski (Louisiana Teach for America executive director/state ed board member, Kira Orange-Jones’ husband).
The PARCC governing board on the revamped PARCC website is listed as follows:
State Superintendent Hanseul Kang, Chair— District of Columbia
Commissioner Katy Anthes — Colorado
Commissioner Kimberley Harrington — New Jersey
Secretary Hanna Skandera — New Mexico
State Superintendent Karen Salmon — Maryland
Superintendent Tony Smith— Illinois
Commissioner Kenneth Wagner — Rhode Island
If one clicks the link for Skandera, one reaches a generic NM ed dept page.
Another link on revamped PARCC takes one to the “states and organizations” page— which is written in such a way to convey the misleading message that even states that are only purchasing PARCC items are certainly *taking the test*:
In the 2016-2017 school year, students in Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) will take the test.
Note that Louisiana is included as “taking the test”; however, the term “PARCC” is not even mentioned on this summary of Louisiana’s 2016-17 assessments. Not to worry, though, notes PARCC on its “assessment options” page— which includes cautions about comparability as part of an incomplete graphic presented at the top of the page. However, I preserved the PARCC testing options caveat in this November 2015 post.
The bottom line is that there is no “the test” PARCC comparison for Louisiana’s assessments using PARCC items since the 2015 Louisiana legislature voted to limit 2015-16 PARCC items to just under half of any Louisiana assessment content (see Act 342).
However, PARCC continues to try to plug along. Never mind that as of this August 2017 writing, its most recent press release is from December 2016, and its most recent featured news item is dated March 17, 2017.
And its official vendor, Pearson (still identified in graphic on the “assessment options” page) continues to shed thousands of employees in the name of *restructuring.*
PARCC and Pearson: Both floundering.
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Originally posted 08-06-17 at deutsch29.wordpress.com.
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Schneider is a southern Louisiana native, career teacher, trained researcher, and author of two other books: A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who In the Implosion of American Public Education and Common Core Dilemma: Who Owns Our Schools?. You should buy these books. They’re great. No, really.
