The Albuquerque Journal ^ | January 3, 2019 | Dan Boyd And Shelby Perea
SANTA FE – On her third day as governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that New Mexico will drop the oft-maligned PARCC exam after the current school year – if not sooner.
In its place, a new state-specific assessment system will be created, Lujan Grisham said. Although it’s unclear exactly what the replacement will look like, the new Democratic governor said she’s confident it can be in place by August and will meet federal requirements.
“I know that PARCC isn’t working,” Lujan Grisham said after announcing two executive orders during a news conference at the state Capitol. “We know that around the country.”
The governor, who was joined by four teachers at Thursday’s news conference, also said families and students around the state should “expect to see New Mexico transition immediately out of high-stakes testing.”
Lujan Grisham had vowed on the campaign trail to eliminate PARCC testing in New Mexico if elected, and described it Thursday as a punitive system that has pushed educators to focus on test-taking preparation, not on teaching.
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In addition to evaluating students, PARCC, short for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, test scores were used as a factor in identifying low-performing schools for potential closure and in teacher evaluations. Therefore teachers, of course, hated the test as it could threaten their jobs.
One thing the previous Republican administration tried to accomplish was to eliminate social promotion, especially from grade 3 to grade 4. However, teachers and the legislature continually fought against it and kids were promoted regardless of their proficiency in necessary skills. Social promotion remains a pathway to failure in later grades and in the future workplace. "
