A New Vision of Assessment
Texts Worth Reading
Problems Worth Solving
Tests Worth Taking
February 10, 2014
Wyckoff K-5 Teachers
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What Is PARCC?
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for
College and Careers:
 Made up of 19 states
 Developing common, high-quality
math and English language arts
(ELA) tests for grades 3–11
 Computer-based and linked to what students need to know
for college and careers
 For use starting in the 2014–15 school year
2
Why New Assessments Now?
We have to prepare all students for college or other
postsecondary opportunities:
 A high school diploma
isn’t enough in our 21st
century economy
 Our K–12 system is not
adequately preparing
students for college
1/3 of
81% of today’s jobs
require college or
career training
college
freshmen
need remedial
courses
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Personal Benefits: Higher Earnings
and Higher Employment Rates
$10,308
20%
$24,854
12%
Mean Income
Unemployment Rate
$30,171
9%
$60,845
5%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2011). Current Population Survey. Figures are based on the total persons in the civilian labor force.
http://www.census.gov/cps/data/cpstablecreator.html
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Why New Assessments Now?
Current state assessments were not designed to:
 Assess and signal whether students are on track for
success in college or careers
 Produce timely, actionable data for students, teachers
and parents
 Test key skills, such as critical thinking and ability to
problem solve
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Why New Assessments Now?
The Common Core State Standards are here:
 States are implementing these
standards for ELA/literacy
and math
 Better standards require better tests
 High-quality tests improve and inform
instruction — they don’t detract from it
6
Why New Assessments Now?
Unlike many current tests,
PARCC tests will be engaging
and will test the critical-thinking
and problem-solving skills
students need to succeed
in school and life.
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PARCC Priorities
1. Determine whether students are college and career ready or
on track
2. Connect to the Common Core State Standards
3. Measure the full range of student performance, including
that of high- and low-achieving students
4. Provide educators data throughout the year to inform
instruction
5. Create innovative 21st century, technology-based
assessments
6. Be affordable and sustainable
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How Will PARCC Be Different?
Help advance our goals:
 Increased competitiveness in a
global economy
 Higher achievement levels and
more opportunities for all students
 Greater comparability between states
 Higher college completion, lower remedial rates
 Better educated citizens
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How Will PARCC Be Different?
Students: Will know if they are on track
to graduate ready for college/careers
Teachers: Will have access to timely
data to guide learning and instruction
Parents: Will have clear and timely
information about student progress
States: Will have valid results that are comparable
across borders
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How Will PARCC Be Different?
For students:
 Test quality will mirror
high-quality coursework
 Is computer-based, interactive,
engaging
 Measures the skills and knowledge
students need to succeed in college
and careers
 Produces timely information, allowing teachers to tailor
instruction to students’ needs
 Includes embedded supports for English language learners,
students with disabilities
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How Will PARCC Be Different?
For teachers and schools:
 Computer-based testing will boost
student engagement and access
 More efficient than pencil-and-paper
tests
 Timely data during the year will aid
instruction, professional development
 Tests will assess the full range of student performance, not
just students in the middle
 Tests will measure student growth at all levels as well as
focusing on proficiency
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Getting All Students College and
Career Ready
Ongoing student support/interventions
K–2
Voluntary K–2
assessment being
developed, aligned to
the Common Core State
Standards
Grades 3–8
Timely data showing
whether ALL students
are on track for college
and career readiness
High
School
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 12thgrade bridge courses
Professional development for educators
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Assessments
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
Required
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Optional Assessments
During the Year
Beginning of
School Year
End of
School Year
Flexible administration
Diagnostic
Assessment
 Flexible indicator of
student knowledge
and skills
 Allows instruction,
supports and
professional
development to be
tailored to improve
student learning
Mid-Year
Assessment
 Performance-based
items and tasks
 Emphasis on hard-tomeasure standards
 Individual states may
consider including as a
summative component
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Two Required Assessments Yield
Overall Score
Beginning of
School Year
End of
School Year
PerformanceBased
Assessment
 After 75 percent of the
school year
 Extended tasks,
applications of concepts
and skills
 ELA/literacy: Writing
effectively when analyzing
text, research simulation
 Math: Solving multistep
problems requiring abstract
reasoning, precision,
perseverance and strategic
use of tools
End-of-Year
Assessment
 After 90 percent of the
school year
 Innovative, short-answer
items
 ELA/literacy: Reading
comprehension
 Math: Short items that
address both concepts and
skills
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Higher Expectations
ELA/Literacy
Math
Read sufficiently complex texts
independently
Solve problems: content and
mathematical practice
Write effectively to sources
Reason mathematically
Build and present knowledge
through research
Model real-world problems
Have fluency with
mathematics
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Item Glossary
Evidence-Based Selected Response (EBSR): The
term refers to a type of ELA/literacy test item
that asks students to show the evidence in a text
that led them to a previous answer.
Prose Constructed Response (PCR): This term
refers to a specific item type on the PARCC
ELA/literacy assessments in which students are
required to produce written prose in response to
a test prompt. These measure reading and
writing claims.
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Item Glossary
Technology-Enhanced Constructed Response
(TECR): This ELA/literacy item uses technology to
capture student comprehension of texts in
authentic ways that have been historically
difficult to capture using current assessments.
Examples include using drag and drop, cut and
paste, and highlight text features.
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Old Test vs. New Test
See the PARCC difference for yourself
Writing prompt on an old,
outgoing state test
PARCC writing prompt
Third Grade Example
Third Grade Example
•
•
•
•
Read the writing prompt below and
complete the writing activity:
Jump out of bed! Look out the
window! It is a perfect weather day!
Write a story about a day when the
weather seemed perfect
•
•
•
You have read two texts about famous people
in American history who solved a problem by
working to make a change
Write an article for your school newspaper
describing how Eliza and Carver faced
challenges to change something in America
In your article, be sure to describe in detail
why some solutions they tried worked and
others did not work
Tell how the challenges each one faced were
the same and how they were different
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Old Test vs. New Test
See the PARCC difference for yourself
Math outgoing state test
PARCC test
5th Grade Example
The town of La Paz, Bolivia, is in
the Andes mountains. Which of
these units could be used to
describe the distance of the
town of La Paz above sea level?
5th Grade Example
A.
B.
C.
D.
Degrees
Feet
Cubic Inches
Pounds
Mr. Edmunds shared 12 pencils among his four sons as
follows:
•
Alan received 1/3 of the pencils
•
Bill received 1/4 of the pencils
•
Carl received more than 1 pencil
•
David received more pencils than Carl
PART A: On the number line, represent the fraction of the
total number of pencils that was given to both Alan and Bill
combined. Use the buttons on the right to increase or
decrease the number of equal sections on the number line.
PART B. What fraction of the total number of pencils did
Carl and David each receive? Justify your answer.
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Math: Grade 3 Sample Item
• This a fairly traditional fraction task in a
computer-based setting.
• 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.
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Math: Grade 3 Sample Item
• Second part of multi-step problem, and, unlike traditional multiple choice, it
is difficult to guess the correct answer or use a choice elimination strategy.
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Spring & Summer 2015
• 1st Operational Assessment-Spring
Administration of PBS and EOY
• Student Performance Levels ands
Associated Cut Scores for all Grades and
College-Career-Ready
Determination(Standard-Setting)
Accessibility in Your Classroom
• All children have unique learning styles and needs
• Technology offers new and exciting ways to increase
accessibility for all students
Common Standards – Common
Expectations – Common Access
What’s New:
•Common accommodations and participation policies for students
with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with
disabilities.
•Technology
•Accessibility features for all students
•Increased involvement of all teachers in identifying tools
What’s Similar:
•Role of the IEP teams and English learner teams
•Many accommodations currently used in states
Accessibility Features for All
Students
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Conclusion
 College or postsecondary career and technical training is
essential to earning sustainable wages
 All high school graduates should be ready to enroll in
college courses or similar technical coursework without
remediation
 PARCC assessments will aid student learning, not detract
from it
 We must measure what children learn in school, but we
must measure with meaningful assessments
 In PARCC, students will engage with texts worth reading,
problems worth solving, and tests worth taking
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General Resources
General PARCC Website
http://www.parcconline.org/
General Field Test Website
http://www.parcconline.org/field-test
Accommodations Manual
http://www.parcconline.org/parccaccessibility-features-and-accommodationsmanual
Teaching Channel Videos
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos?pa
ge=1&categories=topics_common-core
Achieve the Core
http://www.achievethecore.org/
PARCC Glossary of Terms
http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files
/PARCCGlossary07-01-13.pdf
NJ Educator Resource Exchange
http://njcore.org/
ELA Resources
ELA
ELA PARCC Frameworks
http://www.parcconline.org/mcf/ela/parcc-modelcontent-frameworksbrowser?field_eladimensions_tid%5B%5D=137&body
_value=
Sample Test Items-PdF versions on left side menu
http://www.parcconline.org/samples/item-taskprototypes
Sample Computer Based Sample Items and Tutorial
http://practice.parcc.testnav.com/#
Performance Level Descriptors
http://www.parcconline.org/ela-plds
Speaking and Listening-in development
http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/Speakin
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ELA Rubrics
Grade 3 CONDENSED SCORING RUBRIC
FOR PROSE CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE
ITEMS
http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parc
c/files/Grade3-CondensedRubric.pdf
Grade 4-5 CONDENSED SCORING
RUBRIC FOR PROSE CONSTRUCTED
RESPONSE ITEMS
http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parc
c/files/Grade4-5ELACondensedRubricFORANALYTICAND
NARRATIVEWRITING.pdf
Math Resources
Mathematics
PARCC Mathematics Frameworks
http://www.parcconline.org/mcf/mathematics/parc
c-model-content-frameworks-browser
Sample Test Items-PdF versions on left side menu
http://www.parcconline.org/samples/item-taskprototypes
Sample Computer Based Sample Items and Tutorial
http://practice.parcc.testnav.com/#
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Illustrative Mathematics
http://www.illustrativemathematics.org/
Performance Level Descriptors
http://www.parcconline.org/math-plds