Illinois State Board of Education
100 North First Street • Springfield, Illinois 62777-0001
www.isbe.net
James T. Meeks
Chairman
Tony Smith, Ph.D.
State Superintendent of Education
FAQs for Schools
PARCC ASSESSMENT RESULTS
September 2015, ISBE Division of Public Information
Q: When can we expect to receive the score reports?
A: The 2015 scores will not be available until late fall. The results from the first administration
are taking additional time to produce because Illinois educators, along with their colleagues
from other states, had to review students’ work to determine performance levels.
Q: What is a “good score”?
A: Score reports show how students performed on each portion of the Partnership for
Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment as well as their overall
score. The student test results mark a new baseline that enables all of us to know where
students currently stand on their path to success in college and career. Students scoring a 4 or
5 have demonstrated that they have a thorough understanding of grade-level content and are
on the right track to being ready for college-level coursework. Students receiving a 3 are
approaching expectations, but may need additional assistance to ultimately master the content.
Students receiving a 1 or 2 need more assistance in mastering the content and are in need of
greater supports.
Q: Can we compare this year’s scores to last year’s Illinois State Achievement (ISAT)
or Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE) scores?
A: No. It’s important to remember that the PARCC assessment is a completely different test
than past years. The results represent a new baseline that teachers and parents can use to
measure progress toward college and career readiness.
Q: What are the consequences of this year’s scores?
A: This is a baseline year so there are no consequences for schools or students. The numbers
will be used as a starting point in order to measure growth by students, schools, and districts in
the future.
Q: How will this year’s scores be used?
A: The PARCC assessments are standardized and the performance results of students in Illinois
can be compared directly with their peers across the nation. Additionally, the first year of data
will be used to establish performance level threshold scores that determine the performance
levels at which students can be deemed college and career ready.
Q: How should we expect our students to perform?
A: We expect that the percentage of students who show proficiency on the PARCC exam will
likely be lower than the percentage of students who met and exceeded standards on the
pervious state assessments. Lower test scores do not necessarily mean that schools are
performing worse or that students are learning less. Similarly, a drop in student proficiency
scores does not necessarily reflect a drop in performance. It is rather a reflection of the higher
standards Illinois adopted to ensure students achieve college and career readiness. As with any
Schools
change, there is a period of transition as teachers and students get used to the new standards
and tests. We fully expect results to improve as teachers and students become familiar with the
higher standards.
Q: Where can we see how our district/school compares with other schools in the
state?
A: You can view this via the Illinois Report Card, which is available at
www.illinoisreportcard.com. It is the state’s method of sharing public reporting on the school
and district scores. While it’s useful for schools to assess their progress as compared to other
schools across the state, it’s also important to remember that every school is unique and how it
was administrated (paper and pencil vs. computer and high school grade level) may have
varied.
Q: What can teachers do with the results?
A: These scores are one of many factors that provide teachers with feedback as to how they
can better meet the needs of the students in their classrooms. Through continued professional
development and collaboration, districts will work with teachers to reflect on their practices and
strengthen instruction in their classrooms.
Q: What can schools do with the results?
A: Providing accurate and descriptive data is an important part of ensuring that our schools are
providing all students with a quality education. The new data will help districts improve
instruction, strategically support teachers, and assess school performance relative to other
schools across our state and country in order to engage in conversations around what we can
learn from one another.
Q: What can parents do with the results?
A: Parents should review the results and work with teachers to identify student strengths and
areas for improvement. The scores are one tool of many that can help parents and teachers
better tailor instruction to students’ needs, such as providing more advanced and challenging
instruction for students who need it or offering tutoring or after-school enrichment programs to
students who need help practicing their skills. The Illinois State Board of Education will share
resources that are matched to an individual student’s level of performance on the assessment
with teachers and parents to help support additional learning at home.
Q: What about the technical difficulties that happened with the test?
A: During the transition to new, improved assessments, some technical difficulties emerged.
We worked to keep an open line of communication with districts and schools to resolve any
issues to ensure no student data was compromised. More than 75 percent of students took the
exam online this spring and no major statewide technical outages were reported.
Schools