Tewksbury School Committee Votes to Replace MCAS With PARCC

Tewksbury students will still be taking a standardized test in the 2014-15 school year. It will just be a different one than in past years.

During a Wednesday night School Committee meeting, the board voted by a 3-2 margin to replace the MCAS test with the PARCC exam.

Superintendent of Schools John O'Connor recommended the switch, and said it was a matter of being ahead of the game when it comes to the switch.

"If we make the switch now, because it is a new test the state will hold us harmless if there is a decline in scores," O'Connor told Patch, who said a decline in scores is anticipated with a new test. "If they’re going to hold us harmless for a potential decline, why not take it now instead of waiting a year when it would impact our overall rating?"

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education set an early decision deadline of June 30 at 12 p.m. for districts to decide whether to administer the MCAS or PARCC. The final day to decide, pending availability of funding, is October 1.

PARCC tests will be administered to Tewksbury third through eighth graders through paper testing, while high school students will take a computer version.

What is your opinion on the PARCC vote? Do you agree with the switch to PARCC, or should the school have stayed with MCAS? Let us know in the comments section below.