Understanding PARCC

February 2013

1

Why Higher Standards and New Assessments Now?By the year 2020, 65% of all jobs will require some postsecondary education or training.

To ensure future economic sustainability, we must prepare all students to access postsecondary opportunities:

1/3 of college freshmen need remedial courses

The PARCC assessment system will impact 21 million students. 8 million of these students attend Title I schools.

CCSS and PARCC have the potential to substantially improve educational equity, postsecondary opportunity, and economic mobility when implemented with fidelity by K-12 and embraced by postsecondary institutions.

2

By States…for States

2

• 17 states plus DC • 15 million students

in tested grades• Aligned to the

Common Core State Standards

• Developed by educators in nearly two dozen states

• 2013-14 field testing

• 2014-15 roll out

4

By Educators for Students

• Thousands of K-12 educators are leading test development

• More than 1,000 educators serve as PARCC Educator Leader Cadre members, spearheading professional development

• Hundreds of faculty from colleges and universities are working side by side with their K-12 colleagues

5

Tests Worth Taking

• More challenging than current tests• Next-generation design • Measures college and career readiness• Aligned to the Common Core State Standards• Measures reading, writing, and mathematics—with a

focus on critical thinking• Timely data for students and teachers• Comparable scores across states

PARCC is committed to the following principles:• Use Universal Design

principles to create accessible tests

• Measure the full range of complexity of the CC standards

• Use technology to make the assessment highly accessible

• Conduct bias and sensitivity reviews of all items

Promoting Student Access

6

Supporting Classroom Teachers

7

INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS

TIMELY ACHIEVEMENT DATA

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

“PEER-TO-PEER” LEARNING

K–12Educators

PARCC Assessment Design: The Basics

8

AssessmentsELA/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3–11

Beginning of School Year

End of School Year

DiagnosticAssessment

Mid-Year Assessment

Performance-Based

Assessment

End-of-Year Assessment

Speaking and Listening

Assessment

Optional Required

Key:

Flexible administration

9

Getting All Students College and Career Ready

K–2 Grades 3–8 HighSchool

Voluntary K–2 assessment being

developed, aligned to the Common Core State

Standards

Timely data showing whether ALL students

are on track for college and career readiness

College readiness score to identify who is ready for college-level

coursework

Success In first-year,

credit-bearing, postsecondary

coursework

Targeted interventions and supports:

• State-developed 12th-grade bridge courses

Ongoing student support/interventions

Professional development for educators

10

Performance Levels

• PARCC will have 5 performance levels• Each of the proposed performance levels includes:– Policy claims, which describe educational

implications for students at a particular performance level.

– General content claims, which describe academic knowledge and skills students across grade levels performing at a given performance level are able to demonstrate.

11

PARCC Assessment Development: State Educator Led Design

12

State Led Design and Development

PARCC Assessments

developed by the states for the states

K-12 and postsecondary State educator

and content expert led test development

State developed college-ready

standards

State led engagement

process: Higher Education and

K12

State-developed College and

Career Readiness Determination and on-track

measures

Educators in the PARCC consortium can trust that test items reflect the Common Core State Standards and the quality expectations of teachers in their states

State Educators Review Every Item

Bias and Sensitivity Review

Purpose:• Review test materials for potential sources of bias and stereotypes.• Apply professional test development standards to ensure materials are fair

and not insensitive or offensive

Guiding Questions for Bias and Sensitivity Review: • Does the passage/item/task disadvantage any population (gender, race,

ethnicity, language, religion, socioeconomic status, disability or geographic region) for non-educationally relevant reasons?

• Does the passage/item/task contain controversial or emotionally charged subject matter that is not supported by the Common Core State Standards?

• Is the passage/item/task potentially offensive, demeaning, insensitive, or negative toward any population?

• Does the passage/item/task depict any population in a stereotypical manner?

15

Timeline Through First PARCC Administration in 2014-2015

Results of Field Test Research Studies Will

be Released

All Phase 1 Items Completed and in the Item Bank for

the Field Test

Field Test Administered to over 1 Million Students:

Performance Based Assessments: March –AprilEnd of Year Assessments:

May-June

Schools and Districts Notified of Selection

for Field Testing

Practice Test Available on

PARCConline.org

Fall 2013

Spring 2014

Summer2014

Fall 2014

Winter2013

Winter2014

PARCC Assessment Implementation

Phase II Item Development Will

be Completed

Spring2015

Summer2015

1st Year Assessment Administration Fall 2014: Performance-Based and End of Year for Block Schedules

1st Year Assessment Administration Spring 2015: Performance-Based and End of Year

Standard Setting Conducted and Scores for 1st Operational Assessments Released

16

Item Development: Innovative Items Aligned to the Common Core State Standards

17

What is Different About PARCC’s Development Process?• PARCC states first developed the Model Content Frameworks to

provide guidance on key elements of excellent instruction aligned with the Standards.

• Then, those Frameworks informed the assessment blueprint design.• Aligned evidence statements and task models followed.

So…• PARCC is designing the assessments around exactly the same

content shifts the standards expect of teachers and students.• PARCC is communicating in the same voice to teachers as it is to

assessment developers

18

19

Key Advances of the Common Core

MATHEMATICS

Focus, coherence and clarity: emphasis on key topics at each grade level and coherent

progression across grades

Balance between procedural fluency and understanding of concepts and skills

Promote rigor through mathematical proficiencies that foster reasoning and

understanding across discipline

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS/LITERACY

Balance of literature and informational texts; focus on text complexity

Emphasis on argument, informative/ explanatory writing, and research

Literacy standards for history, science and technical subjects

ANCHORED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS

Model Content Frameworks: A Tool for Teachers

• Available in math and ELA/literacy and serve as a guide for the development of the tests

• They can help teachers implement the Common Core by providing examples of how the standards could be laid out over the year.

• For more on Model Content Frameworks, visit: www.parcconline.org/parcc-model-content-frameworks

20

Evidence-Centered Design (ECD) for the PARCC Assessments

Model Content Frameworks

To make claims about what students know, we must operationalize the standards

Evidence Statements

Based on analysis, evidence drive task development

Tasks

Tasks are designed to elicit specific evidence from students

21

22

In Mathematics, Students will …

Solve problems consistent with the

Major, Additional, and Supporting work of the

grade

Express mathematical reasoning

by constructing mathematical arguments

and critiques

Engage in the modeling process to

solve authentic problems

Demonstrate mathematical

fluency

23

Three Types of Math Tasks

Concepts, skills and procedures

a2+b2=c2

Mathematical reasoning

a2+b2=c2

Model and apply what they know to solve problems

a

b

ca

b

c

Connecting School to the Real World

Students will be expected to:• Apply mathematical ways of

thinking to real-world issues and challenges

• Develop a depth of understanding of mathematics and demonstrate an ability to apply math concepts and skills to new situations

24

25

ELA/Literacy

Students will have to:• Show they can read and understand

complex reading passages • Write persuasively• Conduct research and present

findings• Demonstrate speaking and listening

skills

26

ELA/Literacy

Students read and comprehend a range of sufficiently complex texts independently.

Students write effectively when using and/or analyzing sources.

Students build and present knowledge through research and the integration, comparison, and synthesis of ideas.

Reading Literature

Reading Informational

Text

Vocabulary Interpretation

and Use

Written Expression

Conventions and Knowledge of

Language

PARCC Implementation Guidance: Technology Readiness http://www.parcconline.org/technology

27

Technology in Schools

28

PARCC tests can be taken on a range of devices including: desktops, laptops, netbooks and tablets. These should be available for instruction and testing.Some rule-of-thumb guidance:

A school that has six tested grades, such as a K–8 school, should consider having one device per student in the largest tested grade.

Schools with up to three tested grades should consider having at least one device for every two students for the largest tested grade.

PARCC Implementation Guidance: Accessibility and Accommodations

29

PARCC Accessibility System

Features for All Students

Tools embedded in the test platform

Accessibility Features for All Students

Identified in advance

Accommodations for Students with

Disabilities, English Learners, and English

Learners with Disabilities

30

What is Included in the Manual

• The first edition of the PARCC Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual is a comprehensive policy document that will support local educators in the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations for the assessment of students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities on the computer-delivered PARCC Mid-Year, Performance-Based, and End-of-Year Assessments.

• The manual provides educators with information on the accommodations which, when used on the PARCC End-of-Year, Performance-Based-Assessment, and Mid-Year assessment, will result in a valid score for a student.

31

• PARCC will develop translations of its mathematics assessments into Spanish and other languages as necessary, but use of the translated assessments will be a state decision. The additional costs associated with translating and administering assessments in languages other than English will be shared by the states that use them.

Translation Policy

PARCC Implementation Guidance: Testing Time, Testing Windows, Cost Estimates, Sustainability

33

Testing Time

• PARCC tests are being given instead of, not in addition to, current state tests. Testing time may increase in some states, while it will decrease or stay the same in others.

• Estimated time it will take students to complete both ELA/literacy and math tests combined at each grade level:

• This represents less than 1 percent of the time a student spends in school.

34

8 hours annually in

3rd grade

Just over 9 hours annually in grades 4–5

Little less than 9.5 hours annually in

middle school

Little more than 9.5 hours annually in

high school

From the Student’s Perspective

•

• Early Spring Performance Based Assessments in Math and Literacy

• ELA/Literacy: 3.5 hours to write three essays• Math: 2 hours to work through a few short problems and 6-7

extended math problems

• Late Spring: Short answer/Multiple choice Assessments• ELA/Literacy: 2 hours to work through machine-scorable,

reading comprehension questions• Math: 1.75-2 hours to work through short mathematics

problems

35

Schools will have MAXIMUM testing windows within which to complete administration of ELA/literacy and mathematics assessments for all students:• Performance Based Assessment = Maximum of 20

Days• End-of-Year = Maximum of 20 Days

Individual students will participate in testing sessions for both the PBA and EOY components in both subjects over five to nine days.

PARCC Testing Windows

37

PARCC Estimated Costs Similar to Current Median Costs

$29.50Reading, Writing & Math

$29.94Current median for

State Tests

This represents less than 1 percent of per pupil spending in the U.S.

What Drives the Cost of Quality Assessments?

• What drives the cost? – Development of quality test questions for ELA and

Mathematics Assessments– Online delivery of assessment– Scoring, including hand scoring essay questions– Data analysis – Reporting•

38

K-16 Educator Engagement

39

• State Teams: Building local capacity to sustain implementation • 24 members per state totaling almost 600 across PARCC States

– Members include: K-16 educators and district-level administrators– Provided with training and tools to understand, support and own the

implementation of the CCSS and PARCC assessments• Models of State Engagement:

– New Mexico: Classroom and district level ELCs have presented at over 75 functions, events or trainings to date.

– Louisiana: Expanded ELC teams locally by training and placing PARCC and CCSS advocates in every state school—bringing the number of ELC members to almost 2,000 across the state.

• Building Collaboration and Partnerships – Item reviewer partnership with NEA and AFT– iTunes U Common Core Resources Project with ELC members

Educator Leader Cadres

• Through state level engagement efforts, almost 700 state postsecondary institutions and systems have been involved in the development of the PARCC assessment

• PARCC ACCR and Higher Education Leadership Team played an integral role in defining and adopting the College and Career Readiness Determination for placement into entry-level, college-credit bearing courses

• Role going forward:– Continue to deepen awareness of the postsecondary role in PARCC– Develop K-12/postsecondary partnerships and governance plans for using the

PARCC assessments for placement– Approve and participate in the standard setting and long-term validations

processes– Engage higher education in supporting full implementation of the CCSS and

PARCC assessments

Higher Education Engagement

PARCC Scores as Indicators of College Readiness

42

Promoting Success: College without Remediation

• Students will be able to enter into entry-level, credit-bearing courses at postsecondary institutions without remediation in ELA/Literacy and/or math

• Guaranteed exemption from remedial coursework at more than 700 colleges and universities

• For more, go to: www.parcconline.org/parcc-assessment-policies

43

Learn More About PARCC

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careerswww.parcconline.org

On Twitter:@PARCCPlace

#askPARCC & #PARCCELC

44