MAY 21, 2015, 11:46 AM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015, 7:26 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Students will spend less time taking standardized tests next year in New Jersey and 10 other states, a response to complaints from teachers, parents and school officials that the exams took up too much instruction time and overwhelmed local schools.
The governing board of the tests, called PARCC, voted to cut down total testing time by about 90 minutes, the officials said in a statement released Thursday.
“The changes will improve and simplify test administration for schools, teachers and students, without diminishing the goal of the assessment,” the statement said.
Locally, testing critics said that, while they were glad state officials were responding to their concerns, the changes do not go far enough. Too much time still will be spent preparing for the tests, they said, because of the high stakes attached to them. The results are used to evaluate the performance of teachers, administrators and schools and will become a graduation requirement in 2019