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Dominica R. Felici-Skal
Vygotsky-PARCC It- Just Below Each Student’s ZPD!
414 Hackensack Ave. Apt. 1420
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-421-4265
drfeliciskal@gmail.com
Submitted: 2/11/2016

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Lev Vygotsky died very young in life. If he were still alive, I began wondering how he
would discuss and analyze the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College
and Careers) exam. Although many people cringe when they hear the word PARCC, I think if
PARCC would stick to their original claim by designing a rate of growth assessment instead of a
benchmark assessment, PARCC would have more success. My first thought when I hear
PARCC is non-fiction text and one’s ability to synthesize text by not only providing textual
evidence but using the evidence from the text to provide a reflection as we do in college and
graduate school. ‘Therefore, if the designers of PARCC held their integrity and did as promised
by administering a rate of growth assessment, PARCC would follow the lower boundary of
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) Philosophy (Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R.,&
Willems, P. P. ,2013, p. 73). In doing so, the reading passages would be individually designed to
each student’s independent reading level, which would give the students the opportunity to feel
successful during the exam time by giving each student the opportunity to demonstrate and apply
Benjamin Bloom’s highest levels of cognition: evaluation and creativity. Until instructional
leaders utilize well-known methods such as Universal by Design (UbD) lesson plan models that
begin with assessment and apply Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Level not as benchmarks but as
growing stages, these questions will circulate like a tornado and continue to destroy our
educational system. What are we measuring on PARCC and why? What could we be measuring
on PARCC with today’s technology? What is more important and motivational for both the
student and teacher, rate of growth or benchmark scores? I thought the Danielson Model was
designed to measure growth of teachers and administrators. How accurate is that so-called
measurement with a skewed score from PARCC?
In my eyes, the Common Core mirrors the popular song by Pink Floyd, “The Wall” as
both are commonly misunderstood. Each school has a school curriculum, which is supposed to

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be the bottom floor, not the ceiling of each student’s expectations, yet the Common Core is
meant to be the ceiling, which is rarely explained. ‘At the same time what becomes more
confusing is that the PARCC is assessing is at a ceiling level instead of at each student’s
independent level or lower boundary of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
Theory’ (Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R., & Willems, P. P. ,2013, p. 73). Therefore, the technology would
be utilized as it is on the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI), the comprehension assessment that
discovers one Lexile score or independent reading comprehension level. In other words, if the
PARCC was a helpful, self-motivating assessment tool for all, it would provide students,
teachers, parents and administrators a road map where child can independently apply their
highest levels of cognition while defining the student’s instructional level, better known as
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)’ (Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R., & Willems, P. P. ,
2013, p. 73-4).
So other than informing school districts that students x, y and z bombed the PARCC
exam and pointing the finger at the educators, administrators and the Board of Education to fix
the problem, let’s begin by applying conflicting researched-based theories such as Piaget and
Vygotsky into practice. What do you mean we all don’t have to agree? My reply: Is it realistic
that all of these individuals would agree? Do we have to pick one theory, philosophy or method
as the so-called golden model? Before you answer, is there such thing as a one size fits all
literacy program or is intertwining methods of literacy instruction and assessment more
productive for student achievement? Now, I question what does all of this have to do with
Common Core and Pink Floyd’s “The Wall?” ‘According to Walter Bowne, a comedian who
wrote an argumentative article entitled, “Op-Ed: Here’s Why Our Students Won’t Take the
PARCC Exams Seriously” which questioned PARCC’s method of assessment by alluding to this
Pink Floyd song: “Are we creating another brick in the wall?”; lack of motivation to expose
undefined weaknesses and strengths’ (Browne W., 2015). ‘Whether or not Vygotsky would

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agree with Bowne’s point on motivation, I think Vygotsky would change his tune on the
importance of motivation regarding today’s school environment with the all of the distractions of
social media by linking his social constructivism theory to his explanation in reasoning in
automatic success when placing intellectually gifted individuals with so-called lower achievers’
(Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R.,& Willems, P. P. , 2013, p. 69). Would Vygotsky consider technology
and the social context of learning from social media a psychological tool for learning or
distraction?
‘Based upon Vygotskian perspective, the teacher’s role of scaffolding instruction based
upon assessment results at each student’s ZPD instructional level will lead to learning growth as
a new ZPD is defined for the learner; the learner’s previous ZPD becomes their new independent
level and is most beneficial in a social environment’ (Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R., & Willems, P. P. ,
2013, p. 77 & 88) ‘The quote “We don’t need no education, we don’t need our thoughts
controlled” and the lyrics tied with “pouring their derision” or sarcasm by “exposing every
weakness” on everything the student did. However, carefully hidden (weaknesses) by students
due to the “dark sarcasm in the classroom” apply to the purpose of today’s Common Core level
by allowing each student to base their perspective on textual evidence’ (2015, June 15, youtube).
But is PARCC allowing this to happen when the text itself is exposing each student’s weakness
with the dark sarcasm of providing text above or below one’s cognitive ability? “Hey PARCC-
Leave Those Kids Alone (on their independent level); We Do Not Need Another Brick in the
Wall”.
Here’s how:
(1) Apply today’s technology and provide an appropriate assessment so that each
learner can have the opportunity to demonstrate their cognitive abilities,
which should be assessed according to a level of cognition on Bloom’s
Taxonomy

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(2) ‘Intertwine competency-based learning and standard-based assessments, in
order to provide a clear picture of rate of progress on an individual basis and a
clear picture of how that competency level relates to specific Common Core
standards in The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)’ (Townsley, M.,
2014)
(3) ‘At the middle school level, start matching a student’s strengths and areas of
improvement with apprenticeships and community service opportunities.
After that, apply these real-life experiences by asking teachers to scaffold a
cognitive apprenticeship. A cognitive apprenticeship would include a guided
student reflection of real life academic and social conflicts reflections, in
order to deepen the student’s complexity with problem solving skills by
exploring a personalized problem’ (Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R., & Willems, P.
P. , 2013, pp. 83-88)
(4) Include a section to assess the student’s ability to work as a group through
technology on the assessment
Therefore, PARCC needs to make a choice; either PARCC It: Just Below Each Student’s ZPD
(independent level) and provide feedback of for the each student’s ZPD (instructional level) or
stay PARCC with a broken engine to learning.

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References
Bowne, W. (2015, May 7). OP-ED: Here's why our students won't take the PARCC
exams seriously. Retrieved February 01, 2016, from
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/15/05/06/op-ed-here-s-why-our-students-won-t-take-the-
parcc-exams-seriously/
Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R., & Willems, P. P. (2013). Theories in Educational Psychology:
Concise Guide to Meaning and Practice. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Pink Floyd-Another Brick In The Wall (HQ). (2013, June 15). Retrieved February 01,
2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqPwffptR-E closed caption
Townsley, M. (2014, November 11). What is the Difference between Standards-Based
Grading (or Reporting) and Competency-Based Education? Retrieved February 1, 2016, from
http://www.competencyworks.org/analysis/what-is-the-difference-between-standards-based-
grading/