Mahwah Students to Take Field Test for New State Exam

Students at school districts in 14 states will take sample PARCC exams this spring in preparation for the full roll out of the new tests next year. According to an announcement at a Board of Education meeting earlier this month, Mahwah students will be taking the practice test.

PARCC, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, announced over the summer that field tests would begin in March as a way to test the content and administration of the new Common Core-aligned, computer-based test.

At the last Board of Education meeting, Assistant Superintendent Janet Donohue announced several Mahwah schools have been chosen as field test schools.

The scores on the field tests this year won’t count toward students grades, she said, “but they will allow students to practice taking the exam, and it will be a good test of our technology readiness.”

District officials said Curriculum Director Christine Zimmermann is prepping a presentation to the board and the public that will elaborate more on the field testing, and on the district’s readiness for the PARCC exam.

The presentation is slated for a board meeting on Dec. 4.

The test is set to be administered in all Common Core states during the 2014-15 school year.