February, 2015
In recent months some people have inquired about the PARCC Assessment and its impact on Lake Zurich CUSD 95. As
with any change to a system, there is anxiety about how to navigate the change as well as questions about whether or
not the change will accomplish what it was intended to achieve.
The vision of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is to provide clarity about the knowledge and skills students will
need for college and the work place. Past state assessments- Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) and the Prairie
State Achievement Exam (PSAE) focused on recall and lower level thinking skills. The PARCC, the assessment to measure
the Common Core State Standards, design has students applying, synthesizing, reasoning with evidence, and
communicating effectively. This test design certainly aligns to Lake Zurich CUSD 95’s mission which states that our goal
is to provide students with opportunities to ask questions, acquire and evaluate information through a variety of
resources, draw inferences, synthesize, and communicate effectively. Therefore, the vision of the Common Core State
Standards is acceptable to us as an organization.
One of the barriers to implementing the CCSS and thus administering the PARCC assessments is the timeline districts
were given. Each district needed to revise its English Language Arts and Mathematics curriculum, select resources, and
provide professional development by 2015 when PARCC would be administered. The limited timeline causes anxiety
because teachers and students may not have had sufficient time to master the new standards for each content area. In
addition, there is a new skill set needed for administering and taking the PARCC assessments. Information regarding the
protocols for administering the tests are still being finalized which makes it difficult for the district to provide timely
information and training to staff. This also increases anxiety. Lake Zurich CUSD 95 has spent the past three years
revising curriculum and providing professional development in order to lessen the impact of this transition. In addition,
we have tested our network in order to administer the assessment. While additional time would have been
appreciated, Lake Zurich CUSD 95 is prepared.
It is our opinion that one of the reasons districts are resisting the PARCC administration is the ill-defined incentives.
PARCC has not yet informed school districts about the types of reports that will be provided. If these reports provide
valuable information for teachers about each student’s strengths and opportunities for growth, teachers will value the
assessment. In addition, if districts are provided reports that assist us in evaluating our curricula, then assessment data
will be value added to the organization. Absent this information, it is difficult to invest the time and resources in the
assessment which results in resistance. Equally important to acknowledge is that there is little information as to
whether colleges and universities will use the assessment results for admission purposes. If our high school students do
not perceive there is a benefit to performing well on the assessment, we may see resistance from them as well.
Finally, time and technology are two resources which many of us in education do not have enough of. The PARCC
assessment is time intensive and takes a significant amount of time away from instruction. However, to accurately
measure the deeper and more complex thinking called for in the CCSS, requires multi-step questions which require
additional time. Furthermore, many districts are opting to administer the assessment on line because this will be
required in subsequent years and we will ultimately have the results in a more timely manner. This means that the
technology schools do have will not be available for learning. The PARCC assessment asks educators to give two
resources that are already in limited supply. This is creating frustration. In District 95, we have worked diligently to
reduce the loss of instructional time and access to technology as much as possible through the design of the testing
schedules.
PARCC is mandated by both federal and state law. It is the state assessment. Lake Zurich CUSD 95 has prepared to
administer the assessment beginning in March 2015. We have worked to minimize disruptions for both teachers and
students but with any change, there will be issues we will need to address. Our hope is that our preparation has allowed
teachers to remain focused on providing students with meaningful learning experiences that allow them to achieve our
mission.
Jodi Wirt
Assistant Superintendent, Curriculum & Instruction