PARCC Accessibility Features and
Accommodations Manual
July 25, 2013
First Edition Release
Partnership for Assessment of
Readiness for College and Careers
(PARCC)
5
* Accurate as of 7/25/2013
What’s 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.
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Still to Come
• Manual is a proposed policy document, so full administrative guidance is
not included in the document at this time.
• Fall 2013, PARCC states and key stakeholders will review and vet a number
of appendices to the manual which will be designed to support states and
districts in the implementation of the policies.
• Additional supports coming fall 2013:
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PARCC Test Administration Manual
PARCC Style Guide
PARCC Assistive Technology Guidelines
PARCC Translation Policy
Online professional development module on accommodations policies
State-level professional development on selecting, administering, evaluating, and
monitoring accommodations
• Accommodations policies for the Speaking & Listening and Diagnostic
4 Assessments
First Edition of the Manual
• First edition represents best thinking of the PARCC states to date, in
consultation with PARCC’s state expert working groups on accessibility,
accommodations and fairness; technology; ELA/literacy; and
mathematics, as well as national experts.
• First edition has been shaped by three rounds of public comment,
synthesis of current research, stakeholder meetings, and PARCC state
development.
• Future editions will be drafted based on upcoming field tests, targeted
research studies, and operational testing.
• Focus is on accessibility and accommodations for computer-delivered
PARCC Mid-Year, Performance-Based, and End-of-Year Assessments in
Mathematics & ELA/Literacy.
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Development & Review
 Manual was developed and reviewed over the past year through an
iterative process involving the following groups:
– State experts serving on the PARCC Accommodations, Accessibility and
Fairness Operational Working Group;
– K-12 PARCC State Leads;
– Additional state agency experts (including special education and English
learner experts);
– External experts, including English learner expert Lynn Shafer Willner, the
National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) and the PARCC Technical
Working Groups on Equity, English Learners and Students with Disabilities;
– National advocacy groups for students with disabilities, English learners, and
equity and fairness; and
– Staff from PARCC’s project management partner, Achieve.
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PARCC Comprehensive Accessibility
Policies
Features for All
Students
Accessibility
Features*
Identified in advance
Accommodations
**
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* Available to all participating students
**For students with disabilities, English
learners, and English learners with
disabilities
Accessibility Features for All Students
• Tool, support, scaffold, or preference that is built into the
assessment system that can be activated by any student, at his
or her own discretion.
• Universal Design features expected to benefit a diverse array of
students and are available to all students.
• Provided onscreen, stored in a toolbar, or are accessible
through a menu or control panel, as needed.
• During the assessment, students can choose which accessibility
features they need for specific items. Examples include: audio
amplification, highlighting, pop-up glossary, etc.
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Accessibility Features for All Students
Accessibility Features for All Students
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Audio Amplification
Blank Paper (provided by test administrator)
Eliminate Answer Choices
Flag Items for Review
General Administration Directions Clarified (by test administrator)
General Administration Directions Read Aloud and Repeated (by test administrator)
Highlight Tool
Headphones
Magnification/Enlargement Device
NotePad
Pop-Up Glossary
Redirect Student to Test (by test administrator)
Spell Checker
Writing Tools
Accessibility Features Identified in
Advance
• Available to all students (i.e., not limited to students with IEPs, 504
plans, or English learners), but will be selected and “turned on” by
school-based educators prior to the assessment, based on each
student’s Personal Needs Profile (PNP).
• Based on each student’s individual needs, a PNP is created for the
student to ensure that he or she receives appropriate access without
the distraction of other tools and features that are not required by the
student.
• Although school-based educators will enable specific accessibility
features for students, the student will decide whether or not to use
the feature. These accessibility features will be readily available on
the computer-delivered testing platform.
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Accessibility Features Identified in
Advance
Accessibility Features Identified in Advance
Answer Masking
Background/Font Color (Color Contrast)
General Masking
Line Reader Tool
Text-to-Speech for the Mathematics Assessments
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Administrative Considerations for All
Students
• Detailed guidelines on the administration of the PARCC
assessments will be included in the PARCC Test Administration
Manual.
• Principals may determine that any student may require one or
more of the following test administration considerations,
regardless of the student’s status as a student with a disability
or who is an English learner:
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Small group testing
Frequent breaks
Time of day
Separate or alternate location
Specified area or seating
Adaptive and specialized equipment or furniture
Proposed
Accommodations for Students
with Disabilities
Presentation Accommodations
Content Area
ELA/Literacy
Presentation Accommodations
Text-to-Speech or Video of a Human Interpreter for the ELA/Literacy
Assessments, including items, response options, and passages*
Braille Edition of ELA/Literacy Assessments
(Hard-copy braille tests and refreshable braille displays for ELA/Literacy)
Mathematics
Closed-Captioning of Multimedia Passages on the ELA/Literacy
Assessments
Descriptive Video
Video of a Human Interpreter for the Mathematics Assessments for a
Student Who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Braille Edition of Mathematics Assessments
(Hard-copy braille tests for Mathematics)
Both Content
Areas
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Additional Assistive Technology
(Guidelines available fall 2013)
Tactile Graphics
Video of a Human Interpreter for Test Directions for a Student Who is
Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Response Accommodations
Content Area
ELA/Literacy
Mathematics
Both Content
Areas
Response Accommodations
Scribing or Speech-to-Text (i.e., Dictation/Transcription or Signing)
for constructed responses on the English Language Arts/Literacy
Assessments*
Word prediction on the ELA/Literacy Performance-Based
Assessment*
Calculation Device and Mathematics Tools*
(on Non-calculator Sessions of Mathematics Assessments)
Additional Assistive Technology
(Guidelines available fall 2013)
Braille note-taker
Scribing or Speech-to-Text (i.e., Dictation/Transcription or Signing)
for the Mathematics assessments, and for selected response items
on the English Language Arts/Literacy assessments
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* See notes below
Other Proposed Accommodations for
Students with Disabilities
Category
Accommodation
Timing & Scheduling Extended Time
Setting
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Many settings that were once considered accommodations
are now consider accessibility features for all students and
will be included in the test administrator manual. These
include – separate location, small group testing, specified
area or seating, time of day, and frequent breaks.
Unique/Emergency Accommodations
• A small number of students may require additional
accommodations either because they are not listed in the
PARCC manual, or they do not have an IEP or 504 plan but
require an accommodation as a result of a recently-occurring
accident or illness.
• PARCC states will review requests for unique accommodations
in their respective states on an individual basis and will provide
approval after determining whether the accommodation would
result in a valid score for the student, using guidelines
comparable across PARCC states.
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Proposed Accommodations
Policies for English Learners
Proposed Guidance on Selecting
Accommodations for English Learners
When selecting accommodations for English learners, consider the
student’s:
1. Level of English language proficiency (ELP) on the state ELP test
o Beginning, Intermediate, or Advanced
2. Literacy development in the native language
o Native language literacy
o Interrupted schooling/literacy background
3. Background factors that impact effective accommodations use
o Grade/age
o Affective filter (i.e., level of student anxiety/comfort with English)
o Time in U. S. schools
Accommodations for English Learners
KEY for Table 5 below:
•
Highly recommended for use by English learners at this English language proficiency level
 Recommended for use by English learners at this English language proficiency level
May not be appropriate for students at this ELP level
Accommodation
Extended Time
General Administration Directions Clarified in Student’s Native Language
(by test administrator)
General Administration Directions Read Aloud and Repeated as Needed in
Student’s Native Language
(by test administrator)
Scribe or Speech-to-Text:
Responses Dictated for Mathematics Assessment in English
Word-to-Word Dictionary (English/Native Language)
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Beginning
Intermediate
Advanced
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Public Comment on Manual –
Responses & Considerations
Major Themes from the Three Public
Comment Periods
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Audience and purpose of manual
Which students are eligible for accommodations?
Who selects accommodations?
Conditions for provision of accommodations
How accommodations differ from accessibility features
Purpose of the “personal needs profile”
How accommodations interact with IEP and construct validity
Impact of accommodations on students and instruction
Degree of specificity of policies and student criteria
School technology readiness
Clarify the research basis for English learner accommodations
Differing feedback on level of restrictiveness of calculator, reading
access, and writing access accommodations
PARCC Responses to Public Comments
1.
2.
Clarified the audience and purpose of the manual
Detailed the accessibility features intended for all students, and accommodations
intended for students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with
disabilities
3. Strengthened the section on accommodations selection by IEP teams, 504 plan teams,
and English learner educators
4. Revised the decision-making guidelines for calculator, reading access, and writing access
accommodations, and clarified construct validity for students who receive them
5. Conducted a thorough legal review
6. Provided additional guidance on the decision-making process for English learner students
7. Strengthened student-first language throughout the document
8. Explained the function of the “personal needs profile” and process for selecting
accessibility features
9. Met with stakeholder and advocacy groups to discuss final draft prior to release
10. Partnered with leaders in assistive technology to plan for guidelines in the fall 2013
manual release.
Manual Development Timeline
Activity
Date
Early research and development phase
June 2011 – January 2013
Draft reading access & calculator accommodations policies released for public comment
January 16 – February 4, 2013
National Students with Disabilities and English Learner Stakeholder Briefing
January 18, 2013
Draft writing access accommodations policies released for public comment
February 8 – 20, 2013
1st draft of manual reviewed by states
March 12, 2013
Accessibility, Accommodations and Fairness national technical experts discussed manual
March 14, 2013
PARCC State Lead Review
March 20-27, 2013
Follow-up meetings with advocacy/national organizations providing public comments
March 27 – April 20
Executive Committee discussion and vote to move to public comment
April 10
Public comment on the manual
April 18 – May 13
Draft manual revised in response to feedback
May 14 – June 11, 2013
Governing Board vote on adoption of PARCC Accessibility Features and Accommodations
Manual (First Edition)
June 26, 2013
PARCC Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual (First Edition) released
July 25, 2013
Supporting guidelines, tools, and policies released.
Fall 2013
Second edition of PARCC Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual released
after field testing and item development research studies
Late 2013-early 2014
Questions?
• For additional information about PARCC, please check out the website:
www.parcconline.org.
• Want to be the first to know about PARCC releases? Sign up for our
newsletter here: www.parcconline.org
• Policy questions: Please contact Danielle Griswold (dgriswold@achieve.org)
with any questions relating to the content of the first edition of the PARCC
Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual.
• Media questions: Please contact Chad Colby (ccolby@achieve.org) with
questions relating to communications and/or PARCC.