PARCC ELA and Math Accessibility
features and Accommodations
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College
and Careers
Accessibility Features
What are Accessibility Features?
 Tools or preferences that are either built
into the assessment system or provided
externally by test administrators.
 Accessibility features can be used by any
student taking the PARCC assessments (i.e.,
students with and without disabilities, gifted
students, English learners, and English
learners with disabilities).
 Not classified as accommodations.
 Students should have prior exposure to
accessibility features.
 Intended to benefit a wide range of students
Accessibility Features: ID in Advance
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Accessibility Features Identified in Advance
A relatively small number of students will require additional
accessibility features for their particular needs (e.g., changing
the background or font color onscreen, or listening to textto-speech for the mathematics assessments).
Recent research suggests that providing too many tools
onscreen may lead to ineffective use of the tools provided
and/or an impact on a student’s test performance.
Furthermore, the on-off controls for these features might
distract some students if they were shown onscreen, or
interfere with other features or accommodations.
Therefore, some accessibility features will be selected ahead
of time
Accessibility features
Accessibility features
Accessibility features
Accessibility Feature: Redirection
The Test Administrator may redirect off-task
students back to the test by saying,
“<student’s name>, continue working.”
 No coaching or assistance may be provided
in any way
 The Test Administrator may not remind or
encourage students to complete a specific
item
 The Test Administrator may not provide any
physical cues to the test as they could be
misconstrued as directing the student to
incorrect or correct responses
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Accessibility features
Practice Tests to try accessibility
features
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http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/
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To see all features be sure to try a math
and a literacy
Setting Considerations for All
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Things to
think about:
Best interest of
the student(s)
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Maintain test
security
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Maintain
standardized
test
environment
Implementation determined at the District level
 Small Group
◦ Follow the IEP specifications
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Frequent Break
◦ Does not stop the testing clock
◦ May not access internet, text books, friends, etc.
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Time of Day
◦ Consider test security
Separate/Alternate Location
 Specified Testing Area or Seating
 Specialized Equipment or Furniture
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PARCC
ACCOMMODATIONS
Accommodations
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Adjustments to the testing conditions, test
format, or test administration that provide
equitable access during assessments for
students with disabilities and students who are
English learners.
◦ Assessment should not be the first occasion in which
an accommodation is introduced to the student.
◦ To the extent possible, accommodations should:
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provide equitable access during instruction and
assessments;
mitigate the effects of a student’s disability;
not reduce learning or performance expectations;
not change the construct being assessed; and
not compromise the integrity or validity of the assessment.
Assessment accommodation must
be:
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In use at least 90 days prior to testing
◦
Used regularly and with fidelity during classroom instruction
◦
For High School accommodations would be in place the previous
spring
Based on a documented educational need
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Individual, not based on program or teaching style
Documented in an IEP, 504 plan or ELL plan
◦
Team includes educators, parents and student
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Parent signatures
NOT be only used for assessments
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Exceptions to the 90-day rule
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New Student to the District:
 Contact the student’s former school for all relevant
documentation ( IEP,504,or ELP)
 If no documentation can be obtained, consult the student
and parent to discuss any accommodations that have
been provided over the past three months
 Student may have access to accessibility features or
accommodations listed in their IEP, 504 plan or ELL plan
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Unforeseeable Circumstances:
 If a student suffers from an unforeseeable (not predicted
or scheduled) circumstance less than three months prior
to the start of testing and requires an accommodation to
access the state test, he/she may be provided with it
 Example: Student with a concussion needs breaks
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Unique Accommodations
IEP or 504 plans
 Historically less than .01% of students
 To Kim Terry by DECEMBER 12
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Examples:
• Record answers into a tape recorder and play back
to type
• Picture cues to stay on task
• Magazines to tear when frustrated
• Student given “Skittles” at specific intervals for
time on task
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3 formal plans allow for statewide
Assessment accommodations
Students with an IEP
 Students with a 504 plan
 Students identified as an English language
learner
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How the assessment material is presented to the student
PRESENTATION
ACCOMMODATIONS
Presentation accommodations
Presentation Accommodations
Accommodation: Paper based
assessment
Students who:
◦ Have a neurological disorder (such as recent concussion), a
condition that causes seizures, or another health condition that
prevents the student from accessing the computer*
◦ Braille
◦ Adaptive equipment is not compatible
*Students with disabilities that prevent them from
utilizing devices safely may meet this criterion.
Presentation accommodations
Reading the reading passages- ELA/L
Reading the reading passages…
Reporting notation: reading the
reading passages
Oral Presentation on ELA/L
CMAS: PARCC
Accommodation
IEP
504
Additional
Paperwork
Required
 Students must be at the
basal/foundational reading level
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Oral Presentation on ELA/L
CMAS: PARCC
 The student must receive printed
instructional materials for all subjects in
an audio format the majority of
instructional time.
Accommodation
IEP
504
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Oral Presentation on ELA/L
CMAS:
PARCC
Accommodation
IEP
504
Colorado guidance/clarification:
 Students must be at the basal/foundational reading
level
AND
 The student must receive printed instructional
materials for all subjects in an audio format the
majority of instructional time.
Basal/foundational readers are:
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•
at the beginning stages of sound/symbol relationship,
•
able to decode consonant-vowel-consonant words, as well as
some high-frequency words.
Presentation Accommodations
cont…
How the student responds to the assessment
RESPONSE
ACCOMMODATIONS
Response Accommodations
Response Accommodations
Calculation device on non calculator
sections
Response accommodations
Speech to Text- Selected Response
items
ELA/Literacy Speech to Text
on Constructed Response items
Speech to text
Constructed Response Items
Response accommodation
Word Prediction
Timing and Scheduling
Accommodations
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
LEARNERS
Accommodations for English
Language Learners
English Language Learners
accommodations cont…
Online translation
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Colorado policy on next slide
Accommodations for English
Language Learners
MATH ONLY
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Oral Presentation Options – Languages other than
English
Qualifying
 NEP/LEP and in program 3 years or less
 Grade 12 - entered EL programming on or after
November 1st, of their 9th grade year
 Grade 8 - entered EL programming on or after April
15th, of their 5th grade year
 Grade 7 - entered EL programming on or after April
15th, of their 4th grade year
 Grade 5 - entered EL programming on or after April
15th, of their 2nd grade year
 Grade 4 - entered EL programming on or after April
15th, of their 1st grade year
Spanish assessments
Documenting accommodations and assigning accessibility
and accommodations within Pearsonaccess NEXT
PERSONAL NEEDS
PROFILE
PNP
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What is a Personal Needs Profile (PNP)?
The PNP is a collection of student information regarding a student’s testing
condition, materials, or accessibility features and accommodations that are
needed to take a PARCC assessment.
Why Collect Student Information Prior to the Assessment?
Prior to the assessment, the following student information should be
collected so students receive the appropriate accessibility features and
accommodations on testing day:
1. Embedded accessibility features in the TestNav 8 online platform that
need to be enabled for students during administration (e.g., color contrast
[background/font color], text-to-speech for mathematics, etc.)
2. Embedded accommodations in the TestNav 8 online platform that need
to be enabled for students during administration (e.g., ASL, closed
captioning, text-to-speech for ELA/literacy, etc.)
3. Externally-provided accessibility features identified in advance, and
accommodations for students with disabilities and English learners
4. Hard copy accommodated forms that require advance shipping (braille
edition, paper-based edition, large print edition, etc.)
Process for Collecting PNP
Information
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For students with disabilities, the IEP team or 504 plan coordinator will
collect information to populate the student’s PNP.
For English learners, the educators responsible for selecting
accommodations (or an English learner team, if available) will identify
which accessibility features and accommodations should be identified in
the student’s PNP.
For English learners with disabilities, the IEP team (which includes an adult
familiar with the language needs of the student) or 504 plan coordinator
will make decisions about which features and accommodations should be
identified in the PNP.
For students without disabilities, and who are not English learners,
decisions about which accessibility features identified in advance (if any and
if allowed) will be included in the student’s PNP will be made based on the
student’s education-related needs and preferences by an informal team,
which may include the:
a. Student (as appropriate);
b. Parent/guardian; and
c. Student’s primary educator in the subject of the assessment.
How Do You Fill Out and
Submit the PNP File Layout?
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Step 1: Local educators/teams collect
individual student data to populate the PNP
Step 2: Local educators/teams capture
individual student PNP data in a central location
such as the PARCC planning tool.
Step 3: The individual(s) responsible for
student data upload at the school/district/state
level receive the information from step 2 and
upload the information into the PNP File Layout
and the Student Registration File.
Keeping track and organizing
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Simple list of student names and
accessibility features and accommodations
students will use
To Do List
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Be sure that documentation is specific (ex: content area, length of
extended time, etc.).
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Check all IEP, 504, and ELL plans NOW to make sure that all
accommodations listed are currently in use in classroom instruction and
assessments.
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If an accommodation is no longer needed or being used, revise the
document and remove the accommodation. (IEP Additional Meeting –
Case Manager, Parent, General Ed Teacher; 504 – Counselor, Parent).
To Do List
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If a teacher is consistently providing a non-documented individual
accommodation (so for IEP or 504 or ELL only) for a student that would
be appropriate for use on PARCC, convene a formal meeting conducted
by an educational team (includes parent) to evaluate and properly
document the accommodation.
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Involve parents and students in accommodations decisions and evaluate
to make sure they are useful and purposeful.
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Remember that accommodations must be regularly used for at least 90
days prior to PARCC in order to be allowed.
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Provide time for students to practice accessibility features and
accommodations in the online test environment (ePAT).
Talk/Think/Plan next steps
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Where are current accommodations documents for
students kept?
If nothing current kept, what will your building use?
Who is your building ESS contact (s) for finding out
which IEP/504 students need accommodations and
what accommodations they need?
How will you decide which students need text to
speech?
How will you collect from teachers which ELL
students need which accommodations?
End date that you will have all collected in so you
can order and so you can PNP in pearsonaccess?
Updated district assessment
calendar
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Using early PARCC windows