Stockton offers graduate course to help teachers prepare for new state tests

Teachers interested in preparing for the new state tests for New Jersey’s public school students can sign up for “Teaching and Assessing the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts,” a three-credit graduate course offered by Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

The course is available to certified teachers to help them prepare their students for the English Language Arts portion of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

The course will be offered at Stockton’s Manahawkin Instructional Site, located at 712 East Bay Ave.

Photo via RSC
A course is available at Stockton for teachers
to begin preparing for the new state tests.

New Jersey is one of 19 states and the District of Columbia working together on the PARCC, a compilation of computer-based assessments in English language/literacy and math for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Full state testing will begin in 2014 and 2015.

New Jersey and 45 other states have agreed to Common Core State Standards, which set general expectations for what all students should learn and be able to do prior to entering college and the workforce. The PARCC will assess how well students master the “common core.”

The Stockton course for teachers will be held on Wednesdays, May 14, 21 and 28, as well as June 4, 11 and 18, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Additional coursework will be performed outside the classroom.

To register, visit stockton.edu/parcc. For information on receiving professional development hours rather than graduate credits, contact Stockton’s Southern Regional Institute and Educational Technology Training Center at 609-626-3866 or visit ettc.net. 

–Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.