Franklin Lakes Students to Take Early PARCC Exam

Students and staff at Franklin Avenue Middle School will get a sneak peek this spring at a new state exam that will be mandatory starting next school year.

FAMS has been chosen to participate in a field test of the PARCC exam in 8th grade English Language Arts, Superintendent Frank Romano announced in a recent release.

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College Exam, which is based on the new Common Core education standards and administered on computers, is set to replace the current state exams, the NJ ASK and HSPA, starting in the 2014-15 school year.

According to Romano, PARCC field tests will be administered to about one million students across the country in Common Core states as a means to prepare for next year’s roll out.

This March and April, FAMS students will take the performance-based component of the exam, and in May and June the end-of-year assessment. Each participating student will only take one component of the exam in one subject area, so not an entire exam, Romano said.

School officials have said the early practice test, which will not count grade-wise, is an opportunity for students to get used to the test, and the district to run through administering the test prior to next year.

Students in the Wyckoff school district will also be taking the pilot exam, district officials there recently announced.