New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association Legislative Conference March 21, 2014 New Jersey Department of Education

Agenda Why? New Jersey’s involvement in PARCC development Transitioning to PARCC Think abouts…. Performance Division New Jersey Department of Education 2

NAEP – 8 th Grade Math Performance Division New Jersey Department of Education 3

New Jersey’s NAEP Comparisons th Grade Reading22 8 th Grade Reading11 4 th Grade Math34 8 th Grade Math22 Performance Division New Jersey Department of Education 4

Mismatch: State Assessments & NAEP States (Sample)State Test: th Grade Reading Pass Rate th Grade NAEP Reading Ranking Georgia88.0% 17 Kentucky79.0% 9 New Hampshire77.0% 1 Connecticut74.7% 2 North Carolina71.6% 15 Maine68.0% 9 California63.0% 42 New Jersey62.8%2 Massachusetts53.0% 1 Tennessee44.7% 23 New Jersey Department of Education 5 Performance Division

Nationwide, current state assessments were not designed to:  Measure the key advancements in the Common Core  Assess and signal whether students are on track for success in college or careers  Produce timely, actionable data for students, teachers and parents  Test key skills, such as critical thinking and ability to problem solve  Play a key role in the improvement of instruction Why New Assessments Now?

PARCC Assessment Priorities 1.Determine whether students are college- and career-ready or on track 2. Compare performance across states and internationally 3.Assess the full range of the Common Core Standards, including standards that are difficult to measure 4.Measure the full range of student performance, including the performance of high and low performing students 5.Provide data for accountability, including measures of growth 6.Incorporate innovative approaches throughout the system

Evidence-Centered Design (ECD)

In ELA/literacy, general content claims at each level describe how well students are able to Read and comprehend a range of sufficiently complex text independently Write effectively when using and/or analyzing sources Build and present knowledge through the integration, comparison, and synthesis of ideas Use of context to determine the meaning of words and phrases In Mathematics, the general content claims at each level describe how well students are able to Solve problems involving the major content with connections to the practices Solve problems involving the additional and supporting content with connections to the practices Express mathematical reasoning by constructing viable arguments Solve real world problems General Content Claims

Summative Assessment Components End-of-Year Assessment (EOY) Innovative, computer-based items Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) Extended tasks Applications of concepts and skills Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) administered as close to the end of the school year as possible. The ELA/literacy PBA will focus on writing effectively when analyzing text. The mathematics PBA will focus on applying skills, concepts, and understandings to solve multi-step problems requiring abstract reasoning, precision, perseverance, and strategic use of tools End-of-Year Assessment (EOY) administered after approx. 90% of the school year. The ELA/literacy EOY will focus on reading comprehension. The math EOY will be comprised of innovative, machine-scorable items

Task/Item Development Process

NJ Assessment Transition Timeline New Jersey Department of Education 12 Spring 2012 NJ ASK Aligned to Core Curriculum Spring 2013 NJ ASK Common Core Aligned (except gr 6-8 Math) Spring 2014 NJ ASK Common Core Aligned SY PARCC assessment Transitional Assessments Performance Division

Transition Methodology Alignment study between the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and the Common Core State Standards. A review of existing test items (questions and tasks) to determine if the items had the rigor and depth associated with the Common Core. Field tested items in 2012 and 2013 as part of NJASK to increase our Common Core item pool (Field tested items were not scored as part of a student’s score). Performance Division New Jersey Department of Education 13

English Language Arts (ELA) Content Shifts In ELA, the shifts were subtle. Writing prompts became more text dependent, requiring students at all grade levels to ground their responses in specific evidence and information. Students were expected to comprehend and accurately use grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in their reading and writing. Fifty percent or more of the reading passages are now informational. Performance Division New Jersey Department of Education 14

English Language Arts (ELA) Proficient and Above, By Grade Grade Level Difference Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth NJASK Aggregate HSPA Aggregate New Jersey Department of Education 15 Performance Division

Math – Gap Analysis from Core Curriculum to Common Core, by Grade New Jersey Department of Education 16 Performance Division

Mathematics Proficient and Above, By Grade Grade Level Difference Third* Fourth* Fifth* Sixth Seventh Eighth NJASK Aggregate HSPA Aggregate New Jersey Department of Education 17 * Aligned to Common Core State Standards. Performance Division

Release of Assessment Results Performance Division New Jersey Department of Education 18

Think abouts… Standards – Curriculum – Instructional alignment Algebra I in the middle school Current uses NJASK scale scores Current messaging about your HSPA results Integration of technology into regular classroom instruction Performance Division New Jersey Department of Education 19