MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Between the first round of Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers testing and the second round, the opt-out rate in the South Orange-Maplewood School District rose significantly. While the two towns’ rate is still well below that of other nearby school districts, the jump from 3 percent to 16 percent is powerful.
Back in March, only 143 students opted out but, according to the numbers sent to the News-Record by the school district last week, that number has risen to 717.
Following complaints and concerns regarding the state-mandated test, which is administered via computer, the state and each school district began offering parents and students the opportunity to opt out of the testing.
The SOMA school with the highest opt-out rate is Columbia High School, where 40 percent of students eligible to take the test chose not to do so. According to the school district, 29 percent of ninth graders; 45 percent of 10th graders; and 49 percent of 11th graders opted out.
The school with the lowest opt-out rate is Maplewood Middle School, where only 1 percent of students eligible to take the test opted out. That 1 percent rate was spread equally through the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
South Orange Middle School and the elementary schools — Clinton, Jefferson, Seth Boyden, South Mountain and Tuscan — all saw approximately 5 to 7 percent of their eligible students opt out of testing.
The opt-out rates were much higher in some neighboring districts, with 40 percent of Montclair students opting out — within the whole district, not only the high school — and 33 percent opting out in Livingston.
The high opt-out rate in Livingston may be attributable to a resolution passed by the Livingston School Board in opposition to PARCC. The SOMA school board did not pass such a resolution.
The PARCC tests will not be used to assess student performance in 2015 and will not be counted toward graduation requirements through at least 2018. However, teachers will be affected by the PARCC assessment this year, with results counting for 10 percent of their evaluations.
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