NJ's Monitoring of Social Media For PARCC Test Cheating Angers Parents
By David Madden
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- New Jersey education officials say they will look into the practices of an outside contractor hired to monitor social media to ensure that kids taking standardized tests in the state aren't leaking questions online to fellow classmates.
With the new PARCC ("Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers") tests already somewhat controversial in the state, some North Jersey parents were upset to learn that a company is being paid to watch their children's online chatter.
But Patricia Morgan, an attorney for the NJ Education Department, told an Assembly committee the practice is nothing new.
"We are looking to ensure, one, that this is public content in the public realm; that there is a clear reference to the name of the test administration; and, three, that there is a clear reference to test content," she said.
As for privacy concerns on the web, Morgan suggests that's an issue for parents to discuss with their children.