APRIL 23, 2015, 7:27 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015, 7:31 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
State Department of Education officials said they would consider cutting state money to schools where too many students refused to take new state standardized tests.
Education officials said it’s one of the possible sanctions they can place on schools where less than 95 percent of students take the tests.
“The New Jersey Department of Education has always had the authority to consider withholding funds to districts that do not comply with any state or federal laws,” said Michael Yaple, director of communications for the department. “This is not exclusive to PARCC testing or any other requirement.”
The state has not decided if it will use that power or how those cuts would be determined, Yaple said. Conclusions won’t be drawn until the tests are complete.
Good job parents…
The percentage of the Ridgewood district’s outlays that are funded by the state is very small. We need not be intimidated by this threat. The nascent PARCC testing regime is nothing more than naked bureaucratic mediocrity run amok with no likelihood of being a net benefit anytime soon. The Ridgewood district should contract with a reputable private sector testing company, if one can be found, that specializes in distinguishing between such gradations as may exist or can be found between and among relatively high-performing students, rather than dwelling on the academic comings and goings of relatively low-performing students, of which Ridgewood, comparatively speaking, has but few.