Implementation of a new state assessment and graduation requirement for all high school students began back in 2016, when the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment and Readiness for College and Careers) replaced the HSPA (High School Proficiency Assessment) exam for 11th graders. When the PARCC test was introduced, the state designated different graduation requirements for each graduating class.

    What are the current requirements?

    Anyone graduating in or before 2019 can complete their requirements “by passing the PARCC’s English exam for ninth, 10th or 11th grade” and “PARCC’s math exam for either Algebra I, Algebra II or Geometry,” according to a NJ.com article.  In other words, current seniors who already took one English and one math PARCC test their junior year have fulfilled their graduation requirement.

    Students graduating in 2021 or after are required to pass the PARCC Algebra I test and the 10th grade English exam.

    What happens to the class 2020? The state decided the graduating requirements for these students, who are currently juniors, would be the same as the students who were graduating in 2019 or before: pass any one PARCC English and one math exam.

    However, some students from the class of 2020 skipped the PARCC English exam in their sophomore year after passing it once in freshman year because they believed they had completed the requirement.

    In mid-May 2018, the state website changed the graduation requirement for the class of 2020 to that of students graduating in 2021 or after. This means the students in the class of 2020 must also pass the 10th grade English and Algebra 1 exams in order to graduate, leaving school officials trying to find a way for students who had skipped the English PARCC their sophomore year to complete it.

    To add to the complication, on Dec. 31, the NJ Appeals Court ruled the policy that required students to take a PARCC 10th grade English exam and the PARCC Algebra 1 exam violated state law. The state law says that high school students in New Jersey must take one English and math exam in 11th grade to graduate, so testing multiple grade levels violated this rule.

    After the appellate court ruled against the PARCC, they delayed the ruling for the next 30 days to give the NJ Department of Education time to change its policies. However, this leaves administration, parents and students in New Jersey uncertain about whether PARCC testing is continuing this school year  for the class of 2020.

         So what happens to the class of 2020?  They have other pathways to complete their PARCC testing requirement.  For example students can use their PARCC grade 9 scores or their SAT scores if they are above a passing score. The details for other pathways and eligibility can be found online at https://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/parents/GradReq.pdf.

    South is planning to continue PARCC testing as scheduled to ensure there are no further complications for the rising senior class and their state graduation requirement. This means that all juniors who still need to complete Algebra 1 and/or 10th grade English PARCC testing requirements are scheduled to test in the spring of 2019.