Blog and Forum Messages

Princeton, NJ - The Princeton Public Schools Board of Education passed a resolution at the April 26, 2016, board meeting in response to a state-proposed graduation requirement which would impact seniors of the 2016 graduating class. Under the state proposal, PARCC scores from the spring of 2015 would weigh heavily in the granting of a high school diploma. The PPS Board firmly opposed the measure, noting that the new graduation requirements do not conform to existing state law, and that school districts, parents and students were not given adequate and fair notice of the change.

If passed, the new state proposal would require graduating students to achieve a minimum passing score on PARCC, which was administered for the first time last year and resulted in a less than 50% passing rate statewide. While alternatives to PARCC as a graduation requirement have been cited by the NJDOE, the Board noted that none of these have been authorized by the NJDOE's current assessment regulations.

New Jersey would join only 13 other states - down from 25 in 2012 - that tie standardized high school exit tests to the awarding of diplomas. Research shows a correlation between implementation of such exit tests and a rise in dropout and incarceration rates, with no attendant improvement in college participation rates or economic prospects for students.

 

The Board urged the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to withdraw its proposal and to use the transition to PARCC as an opportunity for conducting broader public dialogues regarding graduation policies and equitable assessments for all students.