PARCC Assessments
Massachusetts School Superintendents Association
May 23, 2013
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Presenters
• Steve Chrostowski
– PARCC Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
• Jeff Nellhaus
– Director of PARCC Policy, Research and Design,
Achieve, Inc., Washington, DC
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PARCC -- Today’s topics
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Background about PARCC
Design of assessment system
Focus of the content of the assessments
2015 operational tests
2014 field tests
Suggestions for getting ready
What Is PARCC?
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for
College and Careers:
 Made up of 21 states
 Developing common, high-quality
math and ELA/literacy tests for
grades 3–11
 Based on the Common Core State Standards
 Computer-delivered
 For use starting in the 2014–15 school year
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PARCC - Member States
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PARCC’s Top Priorities
1. Measure the extent to which students are mastering the full range
of the Common Core State Standards
2. Provide educators with data throughout the year to inform
instruction
3. Determine whether students are college- and career-ready or ontrack
4. Measure the full range of student performance, including that of
high- and low-achieving students
5. Use technology to deliver the tests, engage students, assess hard to
measure standards, increase access for students with disabilities and
English learners
6. 6 Be affordable and sustainable
Overall Design of the
PARCC Assessment System
• Summative Assessments
– Performance-based (PBA) component
– End-of Year (EOY) component
– Speaking and Listening component
• Optional Assessments
– Diagnostic
– Mid-year assessment (MYA)
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Summative Assessment Components
Beginning of
School Year
End of
School Year
PerformanceBased
Assessment
Results of both the
PBA and EOY will be
combined to
generate a student’s
overall score
(performance level)
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End-of-Year
Assessment
 After 75 percent of the
 After 90 percent of the
school year
school year
 Short and extended tasks  Short-answer items
 ELA/literacy: Writing
 ELA/literacy: Reading
effectively when
comprehension
analyzing sources
 Math: Concepts, skills,
 Math: Solving multistep
and fluency (grades 3-6)
problems with an
emphasis on the
mathematical standards
for practice: reasoning
and modeling
Optional Assessments
Beginning of
School Year
End of
School Year
Flexible administration
Diagnostic
Assessment
Mid-Year
Assessment
 Design will be similar
to required
 Target grades 2-8 in
Performance-Based
reading, writing, and
Assessment
mathematics
 Could serve as a
 Determine students’
benchmark or interim
learning needs in order
assessment
to tailor instruction
 Computer-based
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PARCC Assessment System
ELA/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3–11
Beginning of
School Year
End of
School Year
Flexible administration
Diagnostic
Assessment
Mid-Year
Assessment
PerformanceBased
Assessment
End-of-Year
Assessment
Speaking and
Listening
Assessment
Key:
Optional
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Required
Content Focus of PARCC Assessments
ELA/Literacy
Read and comprehend literary
and informational texts
independently
Math
Demonstrate conceptual
understanding and fluency
Reason mathematically
Model real-world problems
Write effectively to sources
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ELA/Literacy:
Performance-Based Assessments
• At each grade level include three tasks
– Research Simulation Task
– Literature Analysis Task
– Narrative Writing Task
• Each task will require students to
– Read one or more passages, one of which may be a multimedia stimulus (e.g. video)
– Answer short answer reading comprehension questions, and
– Write an extended response to a prompt that requires the
student to draw evidence from the passage(s) to support their
response
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Narrative Writing Task (Grade 6):
Excerpt from Julie of the Wolves
By Jean Craighead George
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ELA/Literacy: Grade 6
Evidence-Based Selected Response Item
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ELA/Literacy: Grade 6
Another “technology enabled” EBSR
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ELA/Literacy: Grade 6 Sample Item
Grade 6 Narrative Writing Task
In the passage, the author developed a strong character named Miyax. Think about
Miyax and the details the author used to create that character. The passage ends with
Miyax waiting for the black wolf to look at her.
Write an original story to continue where the passage ended. In your story, be sure to
use what you have learned about the character Miyax as you tell what happens to her
next.
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Math: Grade 3 Sample Item
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•
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Unlike traditional multiple choice, it is difficult to
guess the correct answer or use a choice
elimination strategy and there is more than one
correct solution.
Unlike paper and pencil tests, students can create
a visual representation even though the task is
scored automatically.
Math: Grade 3 Sample Item
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Math: High School Sample Item
 Students have to recognize the nature of the equation to know how to solve
(addresses mathematical practice of observing structure)
 Technology prevents guessing and working backward
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Operational Tests in 2014-2015
• Number of Sessions
– Performance-Based Assessments
o
o
ELA/Literacy 3 sessions
Math
2 sessions
– End-of-Year Assessments
o
o
ELA/Literacy 2 sessions
Math
2 sessions
• Testing Time
o
Depending on grade level, a total of 8.5 to 10 hours plus a fixed amount
of additional time allowed for each session for students who need it
• Testing Windows
– 2 windows: PBA early spring, EOY later in the spring
– Each window will be a maximum of 20 days long, but most schools should be
able to administer the tests in many fewer days
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2014 Field Test
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Purpose
– Generate the information on individual items needed to build roughly equivalent
operational test forms
– Provide districts and schools with an opportunity to learn about their capacity to
administer computer-based assessments
Participation
– Sample of schools in each state
– Sample of classroom(s) within each selected school
Design
– Most students will take only one component in one content area
Schedule
– PBA: March/Early April
EOY: April/Early May
• Practice Testlets
– Will be available next year to ensure that all educators and students can become familiar
with item types, technology enabled questions, and embedded supports
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Getting Ready
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Available Now on PARCC Website
– Model Content Frameworks
– Sample Items and Tasks
– Draft Accommodations Policies for SWDs and ELs
– Draft Performance Level Descriptors (Five Levels)
– Test Blueprints and Evidence Statements
– Minimum Device and Bandwidth Specifications
– Assessment Administration Capacity Planning Tool
Coming Soon
– Additional Sample Items
– Participation and Scheduling Information for 2014 Field Tests (August)
– Scheduling Information for 2015 Operational Tests
– Online Tutorial for Taking Computer-Based Tests
– Practice Testlets
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PARCC Assessment Administration
Capacity Planning Tool
• Want to know if your schools have enough computers and bandwidth
to administer PARCC’s computer-based assessments?
– Go to www.parcconline.org/technology
– Download the assessment administration planning tool
– Enter the following information
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The school’s enrollment by grade level
The school’s connection speed to the internet
Information about usage of the internet in the school that will occur
concurrent with the administration of the assessments
The number of days in which you would like to complete testing
– Based on the aforementioned information, the tool will calculate
the number of computers and bandwidth you need
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Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
On the Web:
http://parcconline.org
http://parcconline.org/samples/item-task-prototypes
On Twitter:
@PARCCplace
@EducatorLeader
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