The PARCC test, associated with the Common Core, will be somewhat shorter next year.
Illinois was one of 11 states to administer the test this year, and parents complained it was too long. It would take up to 10 hours and spread across two sessions -- one in March, another in May.
The PARCC consortium voted this week to reduce the test by about an hour and a half and consolidate it into one session instead of two.
Anne Morris, a test coordinator for a Springfield school district, says that’s what she's been hoping to hear.
“Consolidating it into one testing window is the best idea yet. We had a lot of voices saying that that is a good idea,” Morris said. “All the things they have done are good ideas, and the reason being is they have listened to the feedback they’ve gotten from educators. So they’re being very responsive to that.”
A measure moving through the Illinois legislature would allow students to opt-out of the test altogether.
