New Jersey's new standardized tests might not be popular, but they do produce more honest results than the prior exam, according to a new study by education reform groups.
The math and English tests, called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams, led to a significant change in the state's "honesty gap," the difference between student proficiency rates on state exams compared to a national test, the study found.
The report was compiled by two nonprofit groups, Achieve and Collaborative for Student Success, which support the Common Core academic standards. PARCC exams are aligned to Common Core.
"(States) should really be commended for starting to be more transparent with parents and educators about how their kids are doing," said Sandra Boyd, chief operating officer for Achieve. "It really is the first step in improving outcomes."
Unlike the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge, which deemed most students in grades 3-11 proficient in reading and math, the PARCC exams classified significantly more students as not meeting grade-level expectations.
PARCC's results were more closely aligned with the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), an exam given to students in fourth and eighth grade across the country.
In fourth grade, for example, 43 percent of New Jersey students were proficient or better in reading on the NAEP tests in 2014-15. On PARCC, 51 percent of students reached the target score for meeting grade level expectations in language arts.
By comparison, the gap between state and national tests was 18 percentage points in 2013-14, with about 60 percent of fourth students proficient on the NJ ASK reading test.
Other states that switched to Common Core exams saw a similar change in their "honesty gap," according to the report. But Achieve and Collaborative for Student Success said the study was not intended to evaluate whether PARCC is a good test.
Opponents of PARCC have suggested tests scores were lower in 2014-15 because the computerized exams were too confusing and said some students didn't try to do well because they knew the exams didn't count for anything.
Significantly more New Jersey students participate in PARCC than NAEP. More than 90,000 fourth graders took PARCC, compared to about 2,000 who participated in NAEP, according o the state.
Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.