Fall Preview for
Higher Education Leaders
Presented by:
Sue Lane, Senior Advisor to the Commissioner for P-16 Access and Alignment, Massachusetts
Department of Higher Education
Joslyn Overby, Assistant Director of Assessment, New Mexico Public Education Department
Callie Riley, Parcc Inc.’s Associate Director for State Engagement
October 8, 2015
What are the primary objectives of the
PARCC Assessment System?
Determine whether students are college- and
career-ready or “on track”
Provide tools to assess student learning and
support instruction during the school year
Report growth in performance as well as absolute
achievement
Report comparable results across schools, districts
and member states
Generate valid and reliable information to inform
instruction and accountability decisions
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 Use technology for a range of
purposes including increasing
student access, providing
accommodations, engaging
students, and creating efficiencies in
administration, scoring and
reporting
What is higher education’s role?
Common Core State Standards
• Teacher Preparation
• Entry-level Course Alignment
PARCC Assessments
• Readiness for Entry-level Credit Courses
• Placement Testing & Developmental Education
Definition of College and Career Readiness
• P-16 Engagement/Shared Goals
Defining College and Career Readiness
MATHEMATICS
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS/LITERACY
Focus, coherence and clarity: emphasis on key
topics at each grade level and coherent progression
across grades
Balance of literature and informational texts; focus
on text complexity
Procedural fluency and understanding of concepts
and skills
Emphasis on argument, informative/ explanatory
writing, and research
Promote rigor through mathematical proficiencies
that foster reasoning and understanding across
disciplines
Speaking and listening skills
High school standards organized by conceptual
categories
Literacy standards for history, science and
technical subjects
ANCHORED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS
Why is this important for higher education?
• By the year 2020, 65% of jobs nationally will require a career certificate or college degree
• K-12 academic preparation does not align with postsecondary expectations
• 51.7% of students who enroll in 2-year institutions must take remedial courses
• 67.7% of African American students who enroll in 2-year institution must take remedial
courses
• 64.7% of low income students who enroll in 2-year institutions must take remedial
courses
• Of students who enroll in remedial courses at 2-year institutions, 9.5% graduate within 3
years
College readiness standards and PARCC don’t
replace the need for remediation, but together they:
Send a clear message of college readiness knowledge,
skills and practice
Enable a focus on “readiness gaps” to address in high
school
Provide a pathway into entry level credit courses in
English and Math for high school graduates
Furnish greater data to aid college placement tools and
practices
Test Administration in 2015
Key Stats
1.2 million students in one day
204,000 students in one hour
Peak: 1m testers per day x 5
days
Thousands of hours contributed by
thousands of educators
to develop the test
Test Design Changes - 90 Minute Reduction
Overall times include
Reading/Writing and
Mathematics across all
test units per grade
Test Design Changes – One Testing Window
Test Design Changes – Fewer Test Units
With the changes, students in all grades will participate in fewer test units.
The redesigned ELA/L tests are composed of 3 units. The math tests are composed of 3 or
4 units.
The Road to the First Score Report
Spring 2015
July/August
August/September
Fall 2015
State K-12 and higher ed chiefs
review/vote on recommended
cut scores
2014-15 assessment results
available through score reports
The Road to the First Score Report
Administration of PARCC
assessments
Performance level setting for
high school and grades 3-8
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Five Performance Levels
PARCC uses five performance levels that delineate the knowledge, skills, and practices
Place a purple frame around images
students are able to demonstrate:
Five
Level
1:
Level
2:
Level
3:
Level
4:
Level
5:
Performance
Partially Met Approached
Met
Exceeded
Did
Not
Yet
Levels
Expectations
Expectations
Expectations
Expectations
Meet
Expectations
Performance Level Setting: What is it?
• This summer, educators and experts determined what score each student must earn on the assessment in order
to achieve a particular performance level.
• States nominated a variety of stakeholders to participate in 12 in-person panels to review the assessments.
• Recommendations go to PARCC Governing Board for approval
Performance Level
Setting: What is it?
K-12 educators
Postsecondary faculty
Grade-Span Panels
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STATE RELEASES
Score Release Timeline
Some states: high Level
preliminary results
S EPTEMBER
States release state-level score results, approximately
O CTOBER
Districts receive HS
score reports
MILESTONES
States, vendor quality control reviews, prepare score results
N OVEMBER
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D ECEMBER
Districts receive 3-8 score
reports
The Score Report
http://www.parcconline.org/assessments/score-results
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Score Reports
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Individual Student Report: ELA/L
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Individual Student Report: Math
Individual
Student Report: Math
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Individual Student Report: Math
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Score Reports
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What Parents Need to Know About the Score
Reports
• The PARCC tests replace the old state tests. They measure how well students are performing
against the new state standards that guide math and English language arts instruction.
• The PARCC tests are only one of several measures, including report card grades and in-class
performance, that are used to determine a student's academic achievement. They do not
impact a student’s GPA.
• The score reports are a valuable tool for parents and teachers. The report provides a deeper
level of information that can be used to better understand where students are doing well and
where they need additional support. This helps teachers and parents support students.
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What Parents Need to Know About the Score
Reports
• The PARCC tests moves away from multiple choice questions to ones that allow students to
demonstrate a real understanding of what they know and can do by writing essays, solving real
world problems, and reading and analyzing complex text—all critical skills in the real-world.
• Your child’s score may look lower this year because the tests measured more complex skills.
A low score does not mean your child did not improve or learned less, but instead that the
expectations have been raised for students.
• The first year’s scores are a new baseline from which to progress from and measure against
moving forward.
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Available Instructional Tools from PARCC
https://prc.parcconline.org
Resources for Educators
http://www.parcconline.org/resources/educator-resources
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GreatKids State Test Guide For Parents
http://www.greatschools.org/gk/test-guide
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Skill Builder
http://bealearninghero.org/skill-builder
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Questions?
Questions?