Dear Parents and Guardians:

 During the 2018-2019 school year, students in grades 3-11 will participate in an online assessment called The Partnership for Assessment for Readiness of College and Careers (PARCC). PARCC is aligned with the Common Core State Standards and is designed to determine a student’s readiness for college and career. It will help parents and teachers to determine whether or not students have achieved grade level standards. 

 Who takes the PARCC assessments and what do they look like? 

PARCC assessments will be administered in grades 3-11 from May 7, 2019– May 24, 2019 in the areas of English Language Arts and Mathematics. The PARCC assessment will provide a detailed profile of student achievement. This data will be used by teachers in developing an instructional program that will best meet the needs of their scholars.  Teachers will be able to clearly identify those areas where students have mastered the standards and those areas where proficiency has not yet been attained. Since the New Jersey Department of Education requires student participation in these assessments, there is no approved “opt out” by which parents can elect to have their child(ren) exempt from taking the test.

 For Elementary and Middle School Students If parents refuse to allow their child in grades 3-8 to take the PARCC assessments, the refusal letter must be submitted to the principal with the name of the child(ren), daytime phone number, signed by the parent in a sealed envelope. Emails will not be accepted.This notice of a refusal to test must be submitted no later than March 23, 2018. If refusing, please notify the building principal as early as possible to enable the district to make the necessary entries into the PARCC system and establish testing logistics for the building.

 For High School Students currently enrolled in English 9, 10, 11; Algebra 1 & 2, and Geometry If parents refuse to allow their child in grades 9-12 to take the PARCC assessments, the refusal letter must be submitted to the principal no later than March 17, 2018. Please include the name of the scholar, daytime phone number, signed by the parent in a sealed envelope. Emails will not be accepted.