Date of Award

Summer 8-20-2019

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Executive Ed.D. in Education Leadership Management and Policy

Department

Education Leadership, Management and Policy

Advisor

Luke Stedrak, Ed.D.

Committee Member

Jan Furman, Ed.D.

Committee Member

Linda Freda, Ed.D.

Keywords

PARCC, Evalutaion, Curriuculum, Staffing, Technology, Testing

Abstract

This qualitative study explored whether the New Jersey PARCC exam altered evaluation, curriculum, staffing, and technology in Grades 3 to 6 of the state’s public schools. Semistructured interviews were implemented to determine whether administrators and teachers believed that the PARCC test changed the landscape of public schools. Fifteen administrators and teachers were recruited to participate in this study from a consortium of schools in northern New Jersey. The interview instrument for this study was based on existing literature.

Four major themes emerged from the interview data. The first related to PARCC’s influence on staff morale due to the tests direct tie to teacher evaluations. The second theme involved the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (now known as the New Jersey Student Learning Standards). Does the PARCC test reflect and test the information presented in the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content in math and language arts, or did schools rewrite their curriculum to align with the test? The third theme discussed involved staffing in public schools. Did the administrators and teachers think that, since PARCC’s inception, staffing rearrangements have occurred? The last theme that emerged related to the implementation of and access to technology that is needed to complete the PARCC test. This dissertation discusses the interviewees’ perspectives on the PARCC’s impact on these four areas in Grades 3 to 6 of New Jersey public schools.

Keywords: PARCC, curriculum, technology, staffing, evaluation

Download

Share

COinS