So far so good, said school administrators at Sippican School after the school’s first week of PARCC testing for fifth-graders, who completed the ELA portion of the exam last week.
This being the second time Sippican students have performed the online standardized test that replaced the old MCAS, technical glitches this time around were fewer than before, with only a couple of minor incidents with students getting kicked offline, according to Principal Lyn Rivet.
Rivet told the Marion School Committee on May 4 that the students this time were “kind of relaxed about it,” having been exposed last year to the new format of the test. Students took the exam on the school’s Chromebooks, utilizing a mouse and headphones.
“I know that [Assistant Principal Sarah Goerges] and I felt better about the rollout and the training … and we knew where to find the manuals online,” said Rivet. “Overall, everybody’s feeling better about the test.”
Superintendent Doug White commented that he learned, during conversations with other school districts that decided to stick with the MCAS until the state instituted its next generation standardized test, those administrations wished they had moved to taking the PARCC online or at least the written version of PARCC.
“The questions are much different that what [students] have been exposed to in the past,” said White, “so I think that having our children be in a position where we have been involved in this process is only going to help as we go to MCAS 2.0.”
In other matters, Facilities Director Gene Jones had the results of the state-conducted air quality test at Sippican School from March, but the committee forewent discussing the results until they had more time to review them.
School Business Administrator Patrick Spencer said a representative from the state would address the committee personally during its June School Committee meeting; however, some recommendations on the report are already being implemented within the building.
Jones said results showed a few minor structural problems, which are relatively easy to fix. He hinted at some 28 issues mentioned in the report and coming up with a plan of action to measure milestones towards addressing those 28 issues.
“I was like, wow,” said Chairman Christine Marcolini about the thoroughness of the report. “Right down to cleaning out the pencil sharpeners.”
The matter was held until the next meeting.
The next meeting of the Marion School Committee is scheduled for June 1 at 6:30 pm at the Marion Town House.
By Jean Perry