There have been many standardized tests in Verona over the years, but none has generated as much enmity as the PARCC, the high-stakes test devised by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers that was introduced here four years ago. Many Verona parents have refused to let their children take the week-long exams, which even this past spring were creating more than their fare share of classroom stress. The last school year ended with the state Department of Education conceding that it had mistakenly communicated that high school sophomores didn’t need to take the test to eventually graduate, even though they did.
Phil Murphy stepped into the fray when he was running for governor and pledged to eliminate the test. But since he has taken office, Gov. Murphy has faced stiff opposition to doing away with PARCC, including from his fellow Democrats, which leads us to this week’s question:
Question 5: Gov. Phil Murphy has run into opposition to his plan to change standardized testing in New Jersey. What do you think he should do now?
The four candidates running in this November’s election are Timothy Alworth, Pamela J. Priscoe, the current BOE President John Quattrocchi, and David Rullo. Every Saturday between now and October 20, MyVeronaNJ will send them a new question and they must respond to by noon on Tuesday. Candidates’ responses are published in the order in which they were received, and MyVeronaNJ.com does not edit the answers in any way, including grammar, spelling or length.
In previous weeks, MyVeronaNJ.com has asked the candidates for their views on the value of a public school education, how they would achieve their goals as a BOE member, what they would bring to the Board in the way of innovative governance and the ballot question question on mental health.
Click on the arrows to advance to each candidate’s response to this week’s question.
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