The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

Wes Bruce, Indiana Department of Education

NCES Summer Forum

July 25, 2011

PARCC is an alliance of 25 states working together to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in English and math anchored in what it takes to be ready for college and careers

PARCC is state-led and a subset of PARCC states make up its Governing Board• Governing Board: AZ, AR, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA, MD, MA, NJ, NY, OK,

RI, TN• Governing Board Chair: Massachusetts Commissioner Mitchell

Chester• Fiscal Agent State: Florida oversees budget, procurement, and

reporting functions• Project Management Partner: Achieve

About PARCC

PARCC States

3

Governing Board States Participating StatesGoverning Board States Participating States

1. Build a pathway to college and career readiness for all students

2. Create high-quality assessments that measure more sophisticated, authentic student performances

3. Support educators in the classroom4. Make better use of technology in assessments 5. Advance accountability at all levels

The PARCC Vision

Real-time student

achievement data

Assessment Design

Source: Graphic adapted from a representation prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management (www.k12center.org)

START OF SCHOOL

YEAR

END OF

SCHOOL YEAR

Through-Course 1

Through-Course 2

25% 50%Through-Course 3

75%

Through-Course 4

90%

End-Of-Year

Real-time student

achievement data

Real-time student

achievement data

Real-time student

achievement data

Benefits:Through-course assessments provide teachers information on their students performance at key points during the year, allowing them to adjust instruction and target interventionsResults will be returned quickly so they are more useful to schoolsAssessments will measure more sophisticated, authentic performances

Role of Technology

Technology will be central to PARCC, providing cutting edge solutions to test development, administration, scoring and reporting

Integrated modular system and interoperable platformAdministration

• Assessments delivered to schools online• Grades 6-11 and end-of-year 100% online administration

Item types• End-of-year: computer-enhanced, innovative items• Through-course components: searchable environments for student

research and dynamic online calculatorsPreprogrammed accommodations

Role of Automated Scoring

PARCC’s computer-based assessments will:• Produce timely snapshots of students’ knowledge throughout the

year• Give parents, students and teachers the ability to adjust accordingly

rather than waiting until the end of the school year PARCC assessments will be scored:

• By a combination of automated and human scoring (with the end-of-year tests machine scored)

• States will individually determine the extent to which teachers will be involved in scoring

By using automated scoring, scores can be returned more quickly to students and teachers, allowing for a quicker response to the data provided.

PARCC Timeline

SY 2011-12

Development begins

SY 2012-13

First year pilot/field testing and

related research and

data collection

SY 2013-14

Second year pilot/field testing and

related research and

data collection

SY 2014-15

Full administration

of PARCC assessments

SY 2010-11

Launch and design phase

Summer 2015

Set achievement

levels, including

college-ready performance

levels

For more information see, www.PARCCConsortium.org/Timeline

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

http://www.parcconline.org/

http://www.fldoe.org/parcc/http://www.achieve.org/parcc