Williamstown Middle School to have students take the NJSLA instead of PARCC
What began as a small group discussion in the media center at Williamstown Middle School has now evolved into a larger entity that needs to meet in the auditorium. These meetings, known as the Parent Advisory Board, are held quarterly and hosted by Principal Dana Mericle.
“PAB goes way, way back,” Mericle said. “I’ve been in this building for 20 years and it existed when I first started here. It’s been this big for probably the past eight or nine years.”
The purpose of the meetings are to keep the parents up to date with what is happening in the middle school. The meetings are open to anyone, not just parents of middle school students.
At the latest PAB meeting, Mericle spoke about standardized testing for students.
“PARCC as we know it has been discontinued because New Jersey has ended its relationship with the PARCC consortium,” she said.
The students will still take standardized test this spring, however, the name has changed. The NJ Student Learning Assessment, or NJSLA, is the new test in town. In addition to the name change, the amount of time to take the test will be shortened as well.
“Last year, you may recall the state test was a five-day test,” Mericle said. “This year, our students will only be sitting for four days.”
According to Mericle, the English language arts section will be reduced from three units to two units, a savings of 75 to 90 minutes. Grade five math is reduced from three units to two as well, saving 60 to 90 minutes. Grades six to eight math still has three units, but will save 60 minutes of time.
Grades five and eight will take the NJSLA from April 29 to May 2. Grades six and seven will have it from May 6 to 9. Makeups for grades five and eight will take place from May 6 to 9, while grades six and seven will have makeups on May 13 and 14.
Students in grades five and eight will also take an NJSLA test for science on May 13 and 14.
“There is no test prep for it because the teachers should be teaching to the standards every day,” Mericle said.
In other news:
- Another hot button issue at the PAB meeting was smoking, specifically vaping and using an e-cigarette. Mericle said if a student is caught in possession of an e-cigarette, the district will send the child out for drug testing.
“If the drug test is positive, obviously they’re under the influence of drugs so they will be facing those consequences. If the drug test is negative the (e-cigarette) is treated the same as a cigarette would be treated and they are given consequences based on the smoking violation. We’re taking it very seriously,” she said.
There will be an informational presentation on the topic on March 20 at the Williamstown High School theater at 7 p.m. It will be presented by the municipal alliance and will provide insight to the dangers.
- Some important dates on the horizon: RISE, the positive behavior support in schools group, will host circus presentations from March 18 to 21; the middle school musical is scheduled for April 11 to 12; the living wax museum is April 17; spring break is scheduled from April 18 to 24; National Junior Honor Society induction is May 1; spring concerts are on May 15 and 29; the People’s Choice Awards are on June 13; the eighth-grade dance will be on June 14; eighth-grade promotion promenade is on June 19; and the last day of school is June 20.
- The next PAB meeting is scheduled for May 14 at 7 p.m. at the WMS theater.
