PARCC Assessments

Massachusetts School Superintendents AssociationMay 23, 2013

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• Steve Chrostowski– PARCC Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of

Elementary and Secondary Education• Jeff Nellhaus– Director of PARCC Policy, Research and Design,

Achieve, Inc., Washington, DC

Presenters

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1. Background about PARCC2. Design of assessment system3. Focus of the content of the assessments4. 2015 operational tests5. 2014 field tests6. Suggestions for getting ready

PARCC -- Today’s topics

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What Is PARCC?

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers: Made up of 21 states Developing common, high-quality

math and ELA/literacy tests for grades 3–11Based on the Common Core State StandardsComputer-delivered For use starting in the 2014–15 school year

PARCC - Member States

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1. Measure the extent to which students are mastering the full range of the Common Core State Standards

2. Provide educators with data throughout the year to inform instruction

3. Determine whether students are college- and career-ready or on-track

4. Measure the full range of student performance, including that of high- and low-achieving students

5. Use technology to deliver the tests, engage students, assess hard to measure standards, increase access for students with disabilities and English learners

6. Be affordable and sustainable

PARCC’s Top Priorities

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• Summative Assessments – Performance-based (PBA) component– End-of Year (EOY) component– Speaking and Listening component

• Optional Assessments– Diagnostic – Mid-year assessment (MYA)

Overall Design of the PARCC Assessment System

Summative Assessment Components

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Performance-Based

Assessment

End-of-Year Assessment

After 90 percent of the school year

Short-answer items ELA/literacy: Reading

comprehension Math: Concepts, skills,

and fluency (grades 3-6)

After 75 percent of the school year

Short and extended tasks ELA/literacy: Writing

effectively when analyzing sources

Math: Solving multistep problems with an emphasis on the mathematical standards for practice: reasoning and modeling

Beginning of School Year

End of School Year

Results of both the PBA and EOY will be

combined to generate a student’s

overall score (performance level)

Optional Assessments

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DiagnosticAssessment

Mid-Year Assessment

Flexible administration

Design will be similar to required Performance-Based Assessment

Could serve as a benchmark or interim assessment

Computer-based Target grades 2-8 in

reading, writing, and mathematics

Determine students’ learning needs in order to tailor instruction

Beginning of School Year

End of School Year

PARCC Assessment SystemELA/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3–11

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Beginning of School Year

End of School Year

DiagnosticAssessment

Mid-Year Assessment

Performance-Based

Assessment

End-of-Year Assessment

Speaking and Listening

Assessment

Optional Required

Key:

Flexible administration

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Content Focus of PARCC Assessments

ELA/Literacy

Read and comprehend literary and informational texts independently

Write effectively to sources

Math

Demonstrate conceptual understanding and fluency

Reason mathematicallyModel real-world problems

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• At each grade level include three tasks– Research Simulation Task– Literature Analysis Task– Narrative Writing Task

• Each task will require students to – Read one or more passages, one of which may be a multi-

media stimulus (e.g. video)– Answer short answer reading comprehension questions, and– Write an extended response to a prompt that requires the

student to draw evidence from the passage(s) to support their response

ELA/Literacy: Performance-Based Assessments

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Narrative Writing Task (Grade 6):

Excerpt from Julie of the WolvesBy Jean Craighead George

ELA/Literacy: Grade 6 Evidence-Based Selected Response Item

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ELA/Literacy: Grade 6 Another “technology enabled” EBSR

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ELA/Literacy: Grade 6 Sample Item

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Grade 6 Narrative Writing Task

In the passage, the author developed a strong character named Miyax. Think about Miyax and the details the author used to create that character. The passage ends with Miyax waiting for the black wolf to look at her.

Write an original story to continue where the passage ended. In your story, be sure to use what you have learned about the character Miyax as you tell what happens to her next.

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Math: Grade 3 Sample Item

• 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

Math: High School Sample Item

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Students have to recognize the nature of the equation to know how to solve (addresses mathematical practice of observing structure)

Technology prevents guessing and working backward

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• Number of Sessions – Performance-Based Assessments

o ELA/Literacy 3 sessionso Math 2 sessions

– End-of-Year Assessmentso ELA/Literacy 2 sessionso Math 2 sessions

• Testing Time o Depending on grade level, a total of 8.5 to 10 hours plus a fixed amount

of additional time allowed for each session for students who need it

• Testing Windows– 2 windows: PBA early spring, EOY later in the spring– Each window will be a maximum of 20 days long, but most schools should be

able to administer the tests in many fewer days

Operational Tests in 2014-2015

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• Purpose– Generate the information on individual items needed to build roughly equivalent

operational test forms– Provide districts and schools with an opportunity to learn about their capacity to

administer computer-based assessments• Participation

– Sample of schools in each state– Sample of classroom(s) within each selected school

• Design– Most students will take only one component in one content area

• Schedule– PBA: March/Early April EOY: April/Early May

• Practice Testlets – Will be available next year to ensure that all educators and students can become familiar

with item types, technology enabled questions, and embedded supports

2014 Field Test

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• Available Now on PARCC Website– Model Content Frameworks– Sample Items and Tasks– Draft Accommodations Policies for SWDs and ELs– Draft Performance Level Descriptors (Five Levels)– Test Blueprints and Evidence Statements– Minimum Device and Bandwidth Specifications– Assessment Administration Capacity Planning Tool

• Coming Soon– Additional Sample Items– Participation and Scheduling Information for 2014 Field Tests (August)– Scheduling Information for 2015 Operational Tests – Online Tutorial for Taking Computer-Based Tests– Practice Testlets

Getting Ready

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• Want to know if your schools have enough computers and bandwidth to administer PARCC’s computer-based assessments?– Go to www.parcconline.org/technology– Download the assessment administration planning tool– Enter the following information

o The school’s enrollment by grade levelo The school’s connection speed to the interneto Information about usage of the internet in the school that will occur

concurrent with the administration of the assessmentso The number of days in which you would like to complete testing

– Based on the aforementioned information, the tool will calculate the number of computers and bandwidth you need

PARCC Assessment Administration Capacity Planning Tool

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Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

On the Web:http://parcconline.org

http://parcconline.org/samples/item-task-prototypes

On Twitter:@PARCCplace

@EducatorLeader