by Meghna Kumar

The Ohio Department of Education recently declared that the PARCC examination is mandatory to graduate from a high school in the state of Ohio. PARCC, which stands for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, is the most recent attempt by the state legislature to standardize education and ensure that all students who graduate from high school have acquired the same competencies. The scores of the PARCC test range from 1 through 5, similar to grading scale of the Advanced Placement tests administered by the College Board. Freshmen students are required to take tests for math, language arts, science, and social studies. They will need to receive a score of 3, 4, or 5 to pass. Before graduation, students are required to have a set number of points. Freshman Katie Kleinwaechter is member of the Class of 2018, who will take the PARCC exam for the first time. “I think my biggest challenge while taking the test will be to complete it on time,” Kleinwaechter stated.

Students will take their PARCC exams for each class while completing the class in high school. Students in the accelerated program will be allowed to receive an automatic score of 3 on exams for classes they have already taken prior to high school; however, they are given the opportunity to take the PARCC exam and try for a higher score. All scores will be permanently recorded to the students’ high school transcripts.

National Honor Society has teamed up with Sugarcreek Educational Concepts to provide tutoring to all ninth graders interested. Anyone interested in tutoring can sign up in Mrs. Rivero’s room.