Louisiana considers pulling PARCC testing, Common Core
It seems that at least one more state could soon take the path blazed by Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has come out publicly against the withdraw its students from Common Core standards and the accompanying PARCC (Partnership for Readiness for College and Careers) testing. Louisiana’s Republican Governor Bobby Jindal, who helped develop the PARCC tests, recently spoke out publicly against the tests and Common Core standards in general.
Along with many of his conservative constituents, Jindal is now calling the Common Core standards an infringement on state’s rights, among other things, and hinting at dropping them from Louisiana altogether. Jindal has mentioned abandoning plans to implement PARCC testing in 2015.
His apparent flip-flopping has stirred up some ire from the state’s Superintendent of Education who says that pulling PARCC now would leave the state, teachers and students in the lurch for next year. Speaking to a reporter at The New Orleans Advocate, Superintendent John White said:
“What would we do? We don’t have a test for next year… You really need to develop those tests (state-specific ones) a year in advance. We don’t have the money to do that. It is extremely expensive to develop a state-specific test. We just don’t have the time to do it.”
Expense aside, would a state-specific test really make a difference in how learning is assessed in Louisiana — or would it just serve as a token to quiet angry Common Core opponents? And if it is just a political move to keep a group of adults happy, what does that mean for the students impacted?
What exactly is a state-specific test? When I was a kid I took the Iowa Basic Skills Test (or something similar) and I didn’t live in Iowa. The standards in that test was the same as it was in my state. What’s the big deal about a “state-specific” test?
How much, do you want to bet, is his “flip-flopping” have to do with the amount of money it’s taking from the state budget to administer these tests. Again, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s all about the money. Money is what drives the politicians and their governments…
I don’t believe a state specific test is really all that important for any of the states. Even though there is a disparity among state educational standards between states doesn’t mean that the students necessarily need tested at those standards to measure learning.