Naperville Central’s Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) results have been sent home to all current sophomores who participated in the test last March. The results consist of two assessments: English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. The test was taken to assess students on their understanding under the recently implemented Common Core Standards.

According to Boarddocs, 68 percent of District 203 students are meeting or exceeding standards in ELA and 60 percent in math. According to the Chicago Tribune, statewide, Illinois only had 38 percent of students exceeding in ELA, and 28 percent in math.

The grade levels tested and methods of testing varied from between school districts with some districts administering the test on computers and others with paper and pencil. Assistant Principal for Curriculum Jackie Thornton thinks there is no direct comparison.

“One of the things we have to keep in mind is that we aren’t comparing apples to apples,” Thornton said. “So when we look at the results of [District] 204, they tested their juniors, we aren’t [going to be] comparing that. When we look at our scores versus Wheaton, they did Algebra 1 and English 1, but they did paper and pencil and although the assessment items should be the same it’s not exactly comparing apples to apples.”

Superintendent Dan Bridges was at first concerned about what the tests may look like, but is satisfied with the results.

“I am pleased and very proud of how our school district has performed in comparison to other local districts and across the the state,” Bridges said. “We’ve got some room to grow, and some places to focus on.”

While the district scored higher than the state average on the PARCC test, some flaws are still being addressed, such as the visible achievement gap. In the ELA portion of the PARCC test, 28 percent of Black and African Americans are meeting or exceeding standards, as well as 48 percent Hispanic students meeting or achieving.

Thornton explained the process of how to assess the achievement gap and ways to fix it.

“We continue to look at access to course work and obviously the curriculum and differentiating curriculum within coursework,” Thornton said. “The first thing is that we want to make sure is that every student has access to college-prep-level coursework, and then when they are in that college-prep-level coursework, that there is differentiation happening so that that student[‘s needs are met].”

Thornton feels it is important to note that the achievement gap is not specific to District 203, but is a wider issue.

Bridges emphasized that this is the first year of PARCC tests and there is still room for improvement.

“This is a baseline year, this is our first year of results on this new assessment, so we will use it to inform curriculum and inform instruction and to grow and move forward,” Bridges said.