The policy journal, Education Next, recently released their rankings for rigor in standards. To break it down, the journal looked at the standards and then at the results students received to measure if the “proficient” ranking was accurate. The journal gave 24 states high marks on their current standards and assessments they used based on their rigor. When the results came in PARCC states fared quite well!
New Mexico, of the PARCC states, ranked 4th in this year’s ranking which is a major improvement from the 2013 grade of a C. By this ranking, PARCC advocates claim that the PARCC test is one of the most accurate assessments to measure children’s abilities became more reliable.
Education Next noted that Rhode Island, Colorado, and Maryland ranked even higher on PARCC results than New Mexico. In all,24 states received an A for rigor. Other notable PARCC states were also receiving A’s were New Jersey (6th), District of Columbia (10th) and Illinois (11th). A few PARCC states did not fare as well, including Massachusetts (28th) and Louisiana (30th).
The results on rigor do not mean high student achievement. New Mexico .saw improvements in achievement, but they were not great gains. New Mexico saw growth from the first and second testing periods. In ELA they saw an increase of 1.3% and a 2.5% increase in Math. with every grade seeing improvement except third grade. New Mexico uses the PARCC Assessments for grade 3-11 in Math and ELA.
The PARCC standards and assessments are working. PARCC has been viewed unfavorable in the past as more and more member states dropped the consortium. Results might give PARCC credibility in the future.
Sites Referenced: https://www.abqjournal.com/880075/nm-receives-praise-after-parcc-testing.html
http://educationnext.org/after-common-core-states-set-rigorous-standards/
