Tiramisu Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I got this message from our school: Please make sure that your child brings their earbuds. They will be used during certain portions of the PARCC test. Does anyone else think this is a strange requirement for a standardized test administered at a public school? If they they are necessary for the test, shouldn't the school supply them? And what if a student forgets them? Will they have extra on hand, like they did in the old days with No. 2 pencils? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Sounds weird to me. Three of my kids are taking the PARCC (part last week and part this week) and I haven't seen any requests for earbuds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I find it annoying that schools are foisting their technology requirements onto students and their families. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I have seen online posts with teachers complaining that the headphones don't fit children well or don't work well - they slip off, or the sound cuts in and out. Maybe this school is trying to make sure each child has working sound equipment. I personally hate earbuds and we don't own any. We use over-the-head headphones, and that's what I would send. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Lice and hygiene concerns would also be reasons for each kid to have a personal set. I don't like using community headphones. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 It depends on the level and which tests are being administered. The middle school class I subbed for needed them yesterday, but my daughter said they aren't needed for the HS English test she's taking tomorrow. What's really weird is that before the test starts they have to listen to a tone and adjust the volume, because they can't make changes in volume once the test is started. Yesterday about 6 of 20 kids had to go to a computer lab to take the test because some aspect of technology wasn't in order for them. Two had computers that were out for repair (no, the district doesn't have enough loaners). One had sound problems and several had JAVA problems and couldn't sign in to PARCC. I had to send another student out because he was having connectivity problems so his answers weren't being saved each time he moved onto the next screen. About a third of the students didn't have earbuds and had to use the school's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Does anyone else think this is a strange requirement for a standardized test administered at a public school? If they they are necessary for the test, shouldn't the school supply them? And what if a student forgets them? Will they have extra on hand, like they did in the old days with No. 2 pencils? Not a strange requirement. My older doesn't like the B&M school supplied headsets so it is common for kids to bring their own headsets for the day that they have technology class (once a week) in the computer lab. Also there is a problem of hygiene and also head lice. Parents here don't like their kids using school headsets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 DD13 has testing coming up and they told the kids to bring their own head phones/ear buds if they didn't want to use the school-provided ones. DD is quite particular about headphones and is planning to bring her wrap-around over-the-ear set that she uses when she works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Eeew, community earbuds - the thought makes me want to hurl. I won't even share them with my own kids! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 The airline headphones are $2 to rent and have replaceable pads. Maybe schools can get some of these? I agree it's annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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