Lynn to pull double duty on testing

LYNN – Dozens of local students will get a double dose of state testing next month when field tests for the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, exams begin.”It’s very interesting,” said Superintendent Catherine Latham.The announcement made last fall that 17 Lynn schools had been chosen by the state to pilot the exam was met with much trepidation from Latham and School Committee members. Latham since softened in terms of concern if not attitude.”I was a little doubtful,” she admitted. “I think there are still some serious reservations about the amount of student testing.”According to its website, PARCC is a consortium of 19 states, plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, aimed at creating a common set of nationwide assessments for grades K-12. Lynn is not operating alone in the pilot program. According to the state, 81,000 students across the commonwealth, or 8 percent of the state’s student body, will field test the exam that could one day take the place of MCAS.Complicating the issue is the fact that there are two entities working to create a standardized national test, the second being Smarter Balanced Assessments. Latham initially thought the state had already adopted PARCC, but she learned just last week that that is not true, which means students could be spending time piloting a test that won’t be used.If the state does adopt the PARCC exam, Latham said it expects to roll it out for the 2014-2015 school year.”But PARCC only covers English and math so MCAS would continue to be the science portion,” she said.Latham said there appears to be a subtle difference between MCAS and PARCC. State officials said in a prepared statement that while MCAS has served the commonwealth well since its inception in 1998, it’s never been upgraded nor was it designed to assess college and career readiness.Students taking the exam span elementary, middle and high school levels, and the test will include both computer work and old-fashioned putting pen to paper, Latham explained. “Children will be required to drag and drop, scroll and use a toolbar,” she said, referring to the computer aspect. “It’s not that sophisticated right now.”Although students are technically taking a test, there will be no results, Latham said.”We’re just field testing questions,” she said.Which is why, when given the chance, she declined to let schools piloting the exam opt out of this year’s MCAS testing.”Our schools will still be ranked and rated on MCAS scores,” she said.While she said she is concerned about the amount of state testing some students will endure, she also admitted that she, along with the principals, involved are interested in seeing the results.”We’re kind of looking forward to this,” Latham said. “They will go in cold, which really I think is good, and they’ll give us a little feedback. Especially at the elementary level, I’m really dying to know what they think.”