Obstacles or Opportunities:
Using the CCSS, PARCC and Educator
Evaluation to Improve Student Achievement
Common
Core
Student
Student
Achievement
Achievement
PARCC
Educator
Evaluation
www.achievethecore.org
Common Standards, Common Assessments
Uncommon Results
Common Core State Standards:
necessary, but not sufficient
Common Assessments:
required to identify best practices
Quality Implementation:
critical for instructional improvement
www.achievethecore.org
So the Essential Question is…
What is your role
in ensuring that all students are ready for success
in the next grade level and after graduation?
www.achievethecore.org
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Grade 3, Item #1—Part A: Eliza’s Cherry
Trees: Japan’s Gift to America
The article includes these details about life:
She wrote newspaper articles to tell others about what she saw in Alaska to
inform those who had not been there. (paragraph 1)
She wrote the first guidebook about Alaska. (paragraph 1)
She was the first woman to work at the National Geographic Society, where
she wrote many articles and books. (paragraph 11)
What do these details help show ?
a) They show that she shared the benefits of her experiences with others.*
b) They show she had many important jobs during her lifetime, but
becoming a photographer was one of her proudest moments.
c) They show that her earlier travels were more exciting than the work she
did later in her life.
d) They show that she had a careful plan for everything she did in her life.
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Grade 3, Item #1—Part B: Eliza’s Cherry
Trees: Japan’s Gift to America
Ideas from paragraphs 1 and 11 were used to help you learn
about her. Click on two other paragraphs that include additional
support for the answer in Part A. There are more than two
paragraphs that include additional support, but you need to only
choose two.
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Grade 3, Item #2—Part A: Eliza’s Cherry
Trees: Japan’s Gift to America
Which statement best describes how the events in paragraphs 13 through 15 are related to each other?
a)
b)
c)
d)
They explain how Washington, D.C., would change if cherry trees were planted around the city.
They show that Eliza found a new way to get cherry trees planted in Washington, D.C.*
They compare the ways and Mrs. Taft tried to add beauty to Washington, D.C.
They describe how Mr. Taft gave the idea to bring cherry trees to Washington, D.C.
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Grade 3, Item #2—Part B
Eliza’s Cherry Trees: Japan’s Gift to America
Which sentence from the article best supports the answer in
Part A?
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Grade 3, Item #3, Research Simulation Essay: Eliza’s Cherry
Trees: Japan’s Gift to America and “The Peanut Man”
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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Grade 7 Summative Assessment: Prose Constructed
Response from Research Simulation Task (Summary)
Read the
“Biography
of Amelia
Earhart”
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Grade 7 Summative Assessment: Technology-Enhanced
Constructed Response (TECR) from Research Simulation Task
Read “Earhart’s
Final Resting Place
Believed Found”
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Grade 7 Summative Assessment: Prose Constructed Response from
Research Simulation Task (Analytical Essay): “Amelia Earhart’s Life and
Disappearance”
Read the
“Biography of
Amelia Earhart”
Read “Earhart’s
Final Resting Place
Believed Found”
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Grade 10 Summative Assessment: Evidence-Based Selected
Response (EBSR) from Literary Analysis Task
Read the
excerpt from
Ovid’s
“Daedalus
and Icarus”
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Grade 10 Summative Assessment: Evidence-Based Selected
Response (EBSR) from Literary Analysis Task (Vocabulary)
Read the
excerpt from
Ovid’s
“Daedalus
and Icarus”
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Grade 10 Summative Assessment: Prose Constructed Response—
Sample #1 from Literary Analysis Task
Read the
excerpt from
Ovid’s
“Daedalus
and Icarus”
Read Anne
Sexton’s “To A
Friend Whose
Work Has Come To
Triumph”
www.achievethecore.org
Grade 10 Summative Assessment:
Read the
excerpt from
Ovid’s
“Daedalus
and Icarus”
Read Anne
Sexton’s “To A
Friend Whose
Work Has Come To
Triumph”
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Scoring Part A
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Scoring Part B
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Scoring Part C
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Assess your Assessments
PARCC is designed to reward
quality instruction aligned to the Standards,
so the assessment is worthy of preparation
rather than a distraction from good work.
What kind of instruction is rewarded by
your assessments?
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How do you develop your assessments?
Claims
Evidence
Design begins with
the inferences
(claims) we want to
make about
students
Tasks
In order to support
claims, we must
gather evidence
Tasks are designed
to elicit specific
evidence from
students in support
of claims
PARCC utilizes Evidence-Centered Design
www.achievethecore.org
Claims Driving Design: ELA/Literacy
Students are on-track or ready for college and careers
Students read and comprehend a
range of sufficiently complex texts
independently
Reading
Literature
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Reading
Informational
Text
Vocabulary
Interpretation
and Use
Students write
effectively when using
and/or analyzing
sources.
Written
Expression
Conventions
and
Knowledge of
Language
Students
build and
present
knowledge
through
research and
the
integration,
comparison,
and synthesis
of ideas.
“On Their Own”
“Students can, without significant scaffolding,
comprehend and evaluate complex texts across a
range of types of disciplines, and they can
construct effective arguments and convey
intricate or multifaceted information. Likewise,
students are able independently to discern a
speaker’s key points, request clarification, and ask
relevant questions.”
- Common Core ELA Standards
www.achievethecore.org
Use a Degree of Independence Rubric
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I did it independently.
I needed only 1 – 2 quick reminders.
I needed some direction or hints.
I needed a lot of assistance or reminders.
Even with a lot of help, I couldn’t complete the
task.
This adaptation is based on the work of Grant Wiggins.
www.achievethecore.org
CCSS: 3 Shifts in ELA/Literacy
1. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction
2. Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in
evidence from text, both literary and informational
3. Regular practice with complex text and its academic
language
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Claims Driving Design: Mathematics
Students are on-track or ready for college and careers
Solve problems
involving the major
content for their grade
level with connections to
practices
Solve problems
involving the additional
and supporting content
for their grade level with
connections to practices
Use the modeling
practice to solve real
world problems
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Express mathematical
reasoning by
constructing
mathematical arguments
and critiques
Demonstrate fluency in
areas set forth in the
Standards for Content in
grades 3-6
The CCSS: 3 Shifts in Mathematics
1. Focus strongly where the standards focus.
2. Coherence: Think across grades, and link to major topics.
3. Rigor: In major topics, pursue conceptual understanding,
procedural skill and fluency, and application.
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Mathematical Practices
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
Model with mathematics.
Use appropriate tools strategically.
Attend to precision.
Look for and make sense of structure.
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
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PARCC’s Core Commitments to ELA/Literacy
Assessment Quality
Texts Worth Reading: Authentic texts worthy of study instead
of artificially produced or commissioned passages.
Questions Worth Answering: Sequences of questions that draw
students into deeper encounters with texts rather than sets
of random questions of varying quality.
Better Standards Demand Better Questions: Custom items
written to the Standards instead of reusing existing items.
Fidelity to the Standards: PARCC evidences are rooted in the
language of the Standards so that expectations remain the
same in both instructional and assessment settings.
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PARCC’s Core Commitments to Mathematics
Assessment Quality
 Focus: Items will focus on major, and additional and
supporting content.
 Problems worth doing: Problems will include
conceptual questions, applications, multi-step problems
and substantial procedures.
 Better Standards Demand Better Questions: Custom
items written to the Standards instead of reusing
existing items.
 Fidelity to the Standards : PARCC evidences are rooted
in the language of the Standards so that expectations
remain the same in both instructional and assessment
settings.
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Think about your assessments.
 What claims do they support?
 How do they address the shifts in the standards?
 What commitments to quality can they make?
 What kind of instruction do they reward?
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Assessment Transition Timeline
Are your assessments transitioning?
“Transitional Assessments”
Spring 2012
NJ ASK
Aligned to
NJCCCS
Spring 2013
Spring 2014
NJ ASK
NJ ASK
Aligned to the
CCSS
Aligned to the
CCSS
(except gr 6-8
Math)
SY 2014-15
Full
administration
of PARCC
assessments
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So what is the right work?
A. Transition plans ensure that student data moves with the
students and is used to make decisions regarding placement
and instruction.
B. Initial screenings are done within the first two weeks of
school to gather data on students’ abilities.
C. Student data from the previous year and initial screening are
used to establish SGOs that address students’ needs, address
the shifts in the CCSS and will prepare them for PARCC.
D. A standards-aligned curriculum is being taught with fidelity
in all classes (including special ed and ELL).
E. Walk-throughs and PLCs provide teachers with feedback and
guidance on instruction, assessment and data analysis.
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So what is the right work?
F. Benchmark assessments are used to monitor student
progress.
G. Data from benchmark assessments are used to provide
support for teachers and interventions for students.
H. Central office administrators monitor and support the work
of the building administrators.
I. Building administrators monitor and support the work of the
teachers.
J. Teachers monitor and support the work of the students.
K. All of the above.
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So what are you going to do?
Choose C?
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Instructional Resources
Tri-State Quality Review Rubric www.engageny.org
PARCC www.PARCConline.org
CCSS www.achievethecore.org
NJDOE Resources
•
•
•
•
•
•
Model Curricula for K-12 Mathematics and ELA
Unit Assessments
Scaffolds for ELL and Special Education
Model lessons, units, videos, materials and resources
Assessment bank
Educator Resource Website (njcore.org)
http://www.corestandards.org/
http://www.state.nj.us/education/
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Resources to Support Parents
• National PTA - Parents Guide to Success Grades: Kindergarten
to High School http://pta.org/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2909
• Council of Great City Schools – A Calendar of Questions 20132014: A Common Core State Standards Implementation Tool for
School Board Members, Superintendents, District Staff,
Principals, Teachers, Counselors, Parents, and Students
http://www.cgcs.org/cms/lib/DC00001581/Centricity/Domain/4
/Calendar%20of%20Questions.pdf
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Contribute – Rate – Collect – Download – Share
Need help?
Set up a CCIT…
Common Core Implementation Team!
It’s as easy as A-B-C!
https://app.mobilestorm.com/cp/manageforms/preview.php?f
ormID=14290
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PARCC Resources
Sample Items on the Technology Platform
Educators can try the items across all grade levels to develop an
understanding of the assessment’s range of rigor, item types and
functionalities .
http://parcconline.org/computer-based-samples
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PARCC Resources
Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual
Includes an overview of the PARCC Assessment, information
regarding the accessibility system and accessibility features for
all students, the accommodations for students with disabilities,
and accommodations for English language learners. It provides a
five step decision-making process for selecting, administering
and evaluating the use of accommodations for PARCC
assessments. This is essential information for administrators, IEP
and 504 team members, teachers (general educators, special
educators and ELL/ESL educators), related service providers,
parents and students.
http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-assessment-policies
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PARCC Resources
Assessment Blueprints and Test Specifications
A series of documents that describe the content and structure of
the assessments. They define the total number of tasks and/or
items for each assessment component, the standards measured,
the item types, and the point values for each.
ELA/literacy- Info re: the design of the assessments, the
selection of passages/texts, the relationship of reading to
writing, how to pair passages/texts with questions, how to use
the ELA/literacy rubrics for classroom rubric use.
Mathematics – Info re: the coherent nature of the standards and
clarify which evidence statements are eligible for the
performance-based assessment (PBA) and the end-of-the-year
assessment (EOY)
http://www.parconline.org/assessmets-blueprints-test-specs
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PARCC Resources
Evidence Tables and Evidence Statements
Describe the knowledge and skills that an assessment item or task
elicits from students.
ELA tables contain the Reading, Writing, and Vocabulary Major
Claims and the evidences that will be measured on the summative
assessment. Use this info to combine standards when designing
instructional tasks, determine alignment of complex text with
standards for instructional passage selection, develop the stem for
questions that are aligned to the standards, provide instructional
scaffolding, and to develop rubrics and scoring tools.
http://parcconline.org/assessment-blueprints-test-specs)
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PARCC Resources
Evidence Tables and Evidence Statements
Mathematics tables clarify the content that will be measured on
the Performance-Based Assessments (PBA) and End-of-Year
Assessments. This info can be used to sequence curricula so
content is taught in time for the PBA, to identify the evidence
statements that allow calculator use, and to understand what
students are going to have to do for Claim C (reasoning) and
Claim D (modeling).
http://parcconline.org/assessment-blueprints-test-specs
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PARCC Resources
Model Content Frameworks
Useful resources for developing curricula and instructional
materials.
ELA/Literacy - include a narrative summary of the ELA Standards,
a model content framework chart that presents a visual
overview of the standards in a particular grade level (including
crucial reading demands and written emphases for instructional
planning), key terms and concepts for the model content
framework chart, and progression charts for the writing and the
speaking and listening standards.
http://parcconline.org/parcc-model-content-frameworks
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PARCC Resources
Model Content Frameworks
Useful resources for developing curricula and instructional
materials.
Mathematics - provide detailed information about selected
practice standards, fluencies, connections and content
emphases, including examples of key content dependencies
(where one concept ought to come before another), key
advances from the previous grade, and opportunities for indepth work on key concepts. Teachers of Algebra I and Algebra II
may find the information regarding which standards will be
assessed on the PARCC Algebra I and Algebra II assessments
particularly useful.
http://parcconline.org/parcc-model-content-frameworks
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PARCC Resources
Draft Generic Rubrics
Developed for the scoring of the 3 Prose Constructed Response on
the summative assessments. The language is aligned to the CCSS,
the writing evidences, and the content specific performance-level
descriptors for grade 3, grades 4-5, and grades 6-11. Use the rubrics
to score classroom writings, score final written essays, help students
edit and revise their work, demonstrate the criteria for excellence for
specific writing skills, and create their own classroom rubrics or other
formative assessment tools.
http://parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/Grade3CondensedRubric.pdf
http://parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/Grade4-5ELACondensedRubricFORANALYTICANDNARRATIVEWRITING.pdf
http://parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/Grade6-11ELACondensedRubricFORANALYTICANDNARRATIVEWRITING.pdf
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PARCC Resources
Performance Level Descriptors
Describe what students at each performance level know and can
do relative to the assessed grade-level or course content
standards. The PLDs clarify the skill development of all students by
providing clear indicators of levels of mastery that range from
Level 1 to Level 5 (Minimal Command, Partial Command,
Moderate Command, Strong Command and Distinguished
Command). This info can help teachers determine their students’
current level of achievement and plan lessons, interventions,
instruction and assessments designed to raise their performance
to the next level.
http://parcconline.org/ela-plds) (http://parcconline.org/math-plds
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PARCC Resources
Task Prototypes
Released in 2012, these are early renditions of what PARCC’s
standards-aligned items were expected to be. Although they
were reviewed by content and assessment experts, they did not
undergo the extensive review process and field testing that were
used with the newly released sample items. These items can be
used by educators to better understand the content, format and
level of rigor associated with PARCC items. Each item has a
scoring guide and rationale that explains how the item is aligned
to the standards.
http://www.parcconline.org/samples/item-task-prototypes
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Obstacles or Opportunities?
 Culture
 Capacity
 Coherence
 Courage
www.achievethecore.org
Shouldn't all kids have this experience?
www.achievethecore.org
This is our moment.
What will you do?
www.achievethecore.org
The End
Dr. Tracey Severns
Chief Academic Officer
NJDOE
tracey.severns@doe.state.nj.us
www.achievethecore.org
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