The Chicago Sun Times reports that U.S. Secretary of Education (and former CEO of Chicago Public Schools) Arne Duncan will stay out of the “tussle” between the state of Illinois and Chicago Public Schools are having over when the school district should start PARCC.
Illinois wants to role it out this spring, CPS says not so fast.
Illinois is set to begin the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test this spring, replacing the elementary level Illinois Standards Achievement Test and high school level Prairie State Achievement Examination with brand-new tests aligned to Common Core state standards that are supposed to be tougher and require more critical thinking skills.
But CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has said she wants to delay the implementation for at least another year, telling the CPS Board last month that too many question remain about the new test.
She has also said not all schools have the necessary computers and bandwidth to support the online version of the test.
“I don’t know all the details. That’s actually something CPS has to work out with the state,” Duncan said while visiting Farragut Career Academy. “. . . Well, I think the state and CPS need to work that out together.”
So Duncan won’t put the Fed hammer down for now, how noble of him