PARCC and the College Readiness Program Frank Neubrander Louisiana State University and A&M College CCSS-PARCC College Readiness Workshop Nottoway Plantation, June 24-25, 2013

PARCC UPDATES PARCC has contracted with ETS/College Board and Pearson to write test items PARCC engages 300+ educators for reviewing items; the first math item review for grades 3-8 was attended by 24 state DOE staff and HE faculty PARCC has released only a handful of prototype test items (12) PARCC Type I: Tasks assessing concepts, skills and procedures PARCC Type II: Tasks assessing expressing mathematical reasoning PARCC Type III: Tasks assessing modeling / applications

Proto Type Test Items overview-and-assessments.pdfhttp:// overview-and-assessments.pdf

PARCC ISSUES: Despite Florida handling the money for PARCC, the state is not committed to adopting the test. Florida could follow Alabama who withdrew from PARCC and will now use a test from ACT. States like Louisiana might follow the Indiana example and “pause” implementation of PARCC and the CCSS or could find a number of reasons to choose another test: The PARCC tests take up too much time (at least 8 hours). The tests are too expensive. States disagree with the passing scores set by the consortium, some states fear that they will look really bad. Missing technology infrastructure. PARCC implementation without changes in the accountability system could be catastrophic for school systems: in Louisiana alone, the number of schools receiving an “F” might grow from 157 in 2013 to 500+ in 2015 (based on Kentucky and Georgia data).

PARCC/Math Common Core Toolbox Many PARCC prototype problems were developed as formative assessment items; they were never intended as high stakes assessment items. Example: Inches and Centimeters

Louisiana’s Assessments Test Will be 90% “PARCC-like” 8th-grade.pdf?sfvrsn=6