Whether students enjoy the concept of state testing or not, it is something that every student has to endure during their academic career. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is the state assessment that New Jersey currently utilizes, along with the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Education Activity, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Mexico. Together, these states are developing ways to measure the student’s knowledge and academics, in addition to whether or not the students are on the right path to be successful in college and careers.

The PARCC test is seen to be a good way to measure a student’s knowledge, but what do students actually think of the assessment?

When it comes to school, most students dread the idea of a test. Usually, there are two common types of students that deal with tests. The first one being the “I have to ace this!” type. Many believe this type to be the most ideal student, however, what administrators don’t see are the thoughts in these students’ minds. Stress, panic, and doubt strike these students when they are given a test. The second type of common student is the “I don’t care that much, really,” type. These students openly express their hatred for tests. Their goal is to finish the test as soon a possible, just to get it over with.

What do these have to do with PARCC?

Well, PARCC happens to be a standardized TEST. The same thoughts run through the minds of the students. Now, PARCC is useful with measuring a student’s knowledge, dedication, and pathway to college, however, that does not take away the utter hatred most students feel during the test.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy agrees with most students, in that PARCC is a good way to see a student’s knowledge, but these kinds of tests aren’t wanted by many. “The notion of assessing kids to make sure we understand how they’re doing, I’m all in for that, but these big, white-knuckle, once-a-year, with lots of weeks getting folks tuned up to take a particular test I’m not a fan of. Never have been.” – Governor Phil Murphy. Governor Murphy’s take on state testing is a huge excitement for students in New Jersey who hate PARCC testing. In spite of this, the test does record valuable information on students, therefore, PARCC testing is “good” in the sense of data collecting, but “bad” in the way it’s presented.