State testing is now being changed to “the new and improved” Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, PARCC, or is it? Much controversy has rose over this new testing method and the signs are showing it might not stick around long. With 23 states agreeing to take the test in 2010 the number has been chopped nearly in half with only 12 states and D.C. remaining. Common Core as a whole has had a bad rep since the signing of it back in 2001, but with the push for computer testing it’s becoming even more of a headache. Now participating schools have to worry about if they have enough computers and keeping students online.
PARCC isn’t all bad and there are perks to testing online. One being since the test is online it’s easier to track information. With everyone’s testing answers online and not on paper there is less of a chance for losing one person’s test. Another advantage is testing seems to take less time then traditional state required test.  This was probably caused by the ability to end the test early if everyone was done and logged off.

My experience taking the PARCC test at Greene County Tech Jr. High was subpar. During the test the folders on the home screen of the computer started to change to funny sayings. This happen because all the participants of the test were logged into the same account allowing them to create new folders on their computer which led every other computer to change. This incident could have ended with test answers appearing on the screen but lucky for the administrators the people writing on the folders were just fooling around. Another reason against the test is they gave us 1hour and 30 minutes to answer 6-8 questions. Another problem arose when I learned we wouldn’t learn are results till next year’s October. This is to long for an internet based test even with the writing portion of the test.

The questions on the test were unbalanced. The English portion was very easy, but when we came back to take the math portion it felt like I was thrown into a college course. It felt like the people making the test were not given the same age demographic. The test was lopsided to where Math was extremely difficult and English was very easy. I will give them the benefit of the doubt by saying we were the bar setters for the test.

PARCC does have some redeeming factors, but it is a flawed system. Much of the test seemed it was meant for an older testing group. Then there was the technology hiccups. The laptops were the main problem causer with many not wanting to sign kids into the test. Thankfully when taking the Math portion we used desktop computers. This made the seemingly impossible Math part more bearable. With a few major tweaks this test could be an okay replacement for the Benchmark and Iowa exams. In the end I have had worse testing experiences, so I won’t say it’s the worst exam ever, but I will say this test was not very enjoyable or easy.