Official: Up To 14 Percent Of Students Opt Out Of PARCC Test
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's top education official says between 3 and 14 percent of the state's public school students have opted out of a newly implemented standardized test.
Education Commissioner David Hespe updated the Assembly's Budget Committee on the status of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. The test was first administered this year beginning last month.
The test has generated opposition, with critics arguing that preparing students cuts into classroom time.
Hespe told the panel Wednesday that about 3 percent of elementary school students' opted not to take the test, while 7 percent of 9th- and 10th-graders did not take it. Between 11 and 14 percent of 11th-graders opted out.
The figures are preliminary and final numbers are expected after the test wraps up in May.
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