By Megan Werden ’17

Last year for the first time Sherwood students, along with other MCPS high school students, took the PARCC assessment for Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and English 10. Sherwood test-takers did significantly worse than the MCPS average.

In Algebra 1, only eight percent of the school’s test-takers received a passing or excelling score, 19.8 percent for Algebra 2, and 25.3 percent for English 10. These scores were lower compared to MCPS, which had average scores of 40 percent in Algebra 1 passing or excelling, 34 percent in Algebra 2, and 44 percent in English 10.

“The overall view of the community was that students do not need to take these tests seriously since they don’t count,” said Assistant Secondary Administrator Sapna Chaudhry, who is the school’s testing coordinator.

This was the first time students took this full-fledged PARCC. The curriculum and ways the questions were asked also were different from what the students had been learning in their classes. “Students will absolutely do better on the PARCC this year. Teachers can adapt their instruction,” said Chaudhry. She also added that teachers’ hands are often tied because of the amount of content that they are required to cover for their curricula. There was little time last year to do any preparation for the state-mandated PARCC.

The school’s testing schedule also may have not been effective, as students were trying to finish the tests very quickly in order to return to their regular classes. One idea for the PARCC scheduling this year is to have a block schedule during testing time so that students will not miss instruction in multiple class periods.

Administration wants Sherwood students, staff and families to know that last year’s scores were skewed. Since the students all knew that earning a passing grade on these tests was not a graduation requirement, scores were less than what they could be if the tests had been taken more seriously.

“This is not a reflection of our rigor or what is being taught in class. It was more the student and teacher mindset of knowing the test did not count,” said Chaudhry.