For Immediate Release:
10/27/2015
Contact: Darby Hickey
(202) 724-8105
High School Scores a Sobering but Necessary Performance Reality Check
Washington, D.C.--Councilmember David Grosso, chairperson of the Committee on Education, released the following statement on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) high school scores for the District of Columbia:
"As expected, today's release of PARCC high school scores is nothing to cheer about; however, we must remember that this is a recalibrating moment in our city for assessment of progress in the public education system. When the District of Columbia transitioned to the PARCC assessment, we knew that the test would be more difficult. But we also knew that it was important for us to raise our standards to ensure that our students are honestly "college and career ready." These results present a more accurate indication of how much work we still have to do. It is not an indication of students learning less, but rather a better understanding of where we need to be in the long run.
I am confident that our educators and school leaders will get to work and use these new scores and data to continue to improve. This is simply a new baseline. And it is important to remember that the PARCC assessment is not our only indicator of success or progress. We must continue to look towards NAEP/TUDA data, high school graduation rates, and other indicators that show public education in D.C. is constantly improving.
I am committed to supporting the work of our public schools, and continuing to push and innovate in other areas of our government whose work impacts our students. If we want to see these results improve, schools cannot be the only place where we tackle the achievement gap. Every single resident has to be committed to doing all we can to ensure that every child in the city is in the best position to learn."
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