Legislative Preview: Bill Would Prohibit Penalties For PARCC Participation

Penalties against schools, school systems,  teachers, and students for failing to participate in the PARCC standardized assessment would be prohibited under a bill prefiled by state Rep. Bob Hensgens. 

The PARCC exams have come under fire from critics of Common Core, some of whom opted their children out of PARCC testing last week.

Under Hensgen's bill, students in grades 3 through 8 would not be penalized for opting out, and school performance scores, teacher evaluations, and school system letter grades would not take the opt-outs into consideration.

Toby Daspit, president of Power of Public Education Lafayette, has questioned the effectiveness of the exams, telling the Acadiana Press Club the exams are not a "reliable indicator" of performance because few states are participating in the consortium.