Poll: N.J. residents not keen on standardized testing
NEW JERSEY Most New Jerseyans want better measures to hold their local school accountable for how well they educate children, according to a new Monmouth University poll.
NEW JERSEY Most New Jerseyans want better measures to hold their local school accountable for how well they educate children, according to a new Monmouth University poll.
However, not many think standardized tests do a very good job of assessing student achievement or evaluating teacher performance.
Only 5 percent said the tests are an excellent measure of student abilities, and 31 percent said they do a good job. On flip side, 41 percent rated the tests fair, and 19 percent said the tests are a bad gauge of student achievement.
Most of those polled said the tests do a fair (37 percent) or poor (26 percent) job of assessing teacher performance. Only 6 percent said they did an excellent job, and 25 percent rated them as good.
Overall, 53 percent of those queried said better measures are needed to hold their schools accountable, compared to 39 percent who said appropriate measures are already in place.
Sixty-one percent gave their local schools a positive rating.
Asked about the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), the new standardized test that is rolling out statewide next month and is aligned to the Common Core curriculum standards, 30 percent of New Jerseyans said they had heard about the test, including 58 percent of public school parents and 24 percent of other residents.
Of those aware of the PARCC, 51 percent have no opinion on the decision to have it replace the former test, 36 percent think it was a bad idea, and 11 percent think it was a good idea.
Just 13 percent of residents aware of the PARCC have a positive opinion of the test, with the rest split between a neutral (45 percent) or negative (41 percent) opinion. Of public school parents who have heard of the PARCC, 53 percent expressed a neutral opinion, 39 percent were negative, and 8 percent were positive.
Meanwhile, 60 percent of those polled who said they had heard a lot about the PARCC test had a negative view of it, while 21 percent were positive and 19 percent were are neutral.
The poll was conducted by telephone with 805 New Jersey adults from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percent.
- Rita Giordano
