1. PARCC 101
The Basics

2. The Common Core State Standards lay the foundation toward ensuring that students are ready for college and career.

3. PARCC will provide information to determine how students are progressing in that learning.
States, districts, schools, and teachers can use this information to inform
Student Interventions
Systemic changes
Curricular and instructional changes

4. Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)
TALKING POINTS
PARCC is an alliance of 24 states, educating nearly 25 million students, that are 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 led by 17 governing board states (and D.C.) represented in Dark Blue.
CLICK: The chair of the governing board is Mitchell Chester, Education Commissioner of Massachusetts, and the state of Florida is serving as its fiscal agent.
CLICK: Achieve is the project manager for PARCC, essentially serving as the staff for the consortium and coordinating the work. Collectively the PARCC states educate nearly 25 million students.
Governing States will pilot and field test the assessment system components over the next three years and administer the new assessment system during the school year. Governing States will use the results from the PARCC assessments in their state accountability systems
The chief state school officers of the Governing States serve on the PARCC Governing Board and make decisions on behalf of the Partnership on major policies and operational procedures
Participating States (light blue) provide staff to serve on PARCC’s design committees, working groups, and other task forces established by the Governing Board to conduct the work necessary to design and develop PARCC’s proposed assessment system. By 2014–15, any state that remains in PARCC must commit to statewide implementation and administration of the Partnership’s assessment system Any PARCC Participating State prepared to make the commitments and take on the responsibilities of a Governing State can become one
NOTES
Governing Board: Comprised of K-12 chiefs from Governing Board States
Technical Advisory Committee: Comprised of state/national assessment experts
Leadership Team: Comprised of delegates of K-12 chiefs from Governing Board States (e.g., Assoc. Supt for Curriculum, Assessment and/or Instruction)
ACCR: Comprised of national and state postsecondary leaders
Operational Working Groups: Comprised of national, state, and local experts and leaders in their specific areas of expertise

5. The PARCC Goals
Create high-quality assessments
Build a pathway to college and career readiness for all students
Support educators in the classroom
Develop 21st century, technology-based assessments
Advance accountability at all levels
Build an assessment that is sustainable and affordable

6. Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments
Determine whether students are college- and career-ready or on track
Assess the full range of the Common Core Standards
Measure the full range of student performance, including the high and low performing students
Provide data during the academic year to inform instruction, interventions and professional development
Provide data for accountability, including measures of growth
Incorporate innovative approaches throughout the system

7. 2 Optional Assessments/Flexible Administration
Assessment Design English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3-11
Performance-Based
Assessment (PBA)
Extended tasks
Applications of concepts and skills
Required
End-of-Year
Assessment
Innovative, computer-based items
Required
2 Optional Assessments/Flexible Administration
Diagnostic Assessment
Early indicator of student knowledge and skills to inform instruction, supports, and PD
Non-summative
Mid-Year Assessment
Performance-based
Emphasis on hard-to-measure standards
Potentially summative
PARCC states are developing an assessment system comprised of four components. Each component will be computer-delivered and will leverage technology to incorporate innovations.
Two summative, required assessment components designed to
Make “college- and career-readiness” and “on-track” determinations
Measure the full range of standards and full performance continuum
Provide data for accountability uses, including measures of growth
Two interim, optional assessment components designed to generate timely information for informing instruction, interventions, and professional development during the school year
In English language arts/literacy, an additional required, non-summative component will assess students’ speaking and listening skills
Speaking And Listening Assessment
Locally scored
Non-summative, required

8. Non-Summative Optional Assessment Components
Optional Assessments/Flexible Administration
Diagnostic Assessment designed to be an indicator of student knowledge and skills so that instruction, supports and professional development can be tailored to meet student needs
Mid-Year Assessment comprised of performance-based items and tasks, with an emphasis on hard-to-measure standards. After study, individual states may consider including as a summative component
Diagnostic Assessment
Early indicator of student knowledge and skills to inform instruction, supports, and PD
Mid-Year Assessment
Performance-based
Emphasis on hard to measure standards
Potentially summative
TALKING POINTS
Graphic depiction of the assessment system.
The PARCC assessment system will:
Better reflect the sophisticated knowledge and skills found in the English and math Common Core State Standards
Include a mix of item types (e.g., short answer, richer multiple choice, longer open response, performance-based)
Make significant use of technology
Include testing at key points throughout the year to give teachers, parents and students better information about whether students are on track or need additional support in particular areas 8

9. Summative Assessment Components
Performance-Based
Assessment (PBA)
Extended tasks
Applications of concepts and skills
End-of-Year
Assessment
Innovative, computer-based items
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
TALKING POINTS
Graphic depiction of the assessment system.
The PARCC assessment system will:
Better reflect the sophisticated knowledge and skills found in the English and math Common Core State Standards
Include a mix of item types (e.g., short answer, richer multiple choice, longer open response, performance-based)
Make significant use of technology
Include testing at key points throughout the year to give teachers, parents and students better information about whether students are on track or need additional support in particular areas 9

10. Goal #2: Build a Pathway to College and Career Readiness for All Students
K-2 formative assessment being developed, aligned to the PARCC system
Timely student achievement data showing students, parents and educators whether ALL students are on-track to college and career readiness
College readiness score to identify who is ready for college-level coursework
Targeted interventions & supports:
12th-grade bridge courses
PD for educators
K-2
3-8
High School
SUCCESS IN FIRST-YEAR, CREDIT-BEARING, POSTSECONDARY COURSEWORK
The PARCC assessment system will be aligned to the college- and career-ready, Common Core State Standards, and is being designed to challenge students, help identify when they’re not meeting the standards, and provide targeted instruction, supports and interventions to help them succeed
Students who score proficient on the assessments will know they are on track for the next steps in their education, creating a more meaningful target
In high school, results will send an early signal about whether students are ready for entry-level, non-remedial courses at higher education institutions in all 24 PARCC states
Students who are identified as not being on track, or who do not meet the college readiness score, will receive targeted supports and interventions
Higher education partners in PARCC—nearly 200 institutions and systems covering over 8,50 campuses across the country—have committed to help develop the high school assessments and set the college-ready cut score that will be used to place incoming freshman in credit-bearing college courses
ONGOING STUDENT SUPPORTS/INTERVENTIONS

11. Goal #3: Support Educators in the Classroom
INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULES
K-12 Educator
TALKING POINTS
The PARCC assessments will be built with the K-12 educator in mind around four different areas.
(CLICK) INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION
Model Content frameworks
Sample assessment tasks
Model instructional units
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULES
Common Assessment : PD focused on the implementation the new assessments
Common Assessment : PD focused on how to interpret and use the assessment results
TIMELY STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA
Aligned performance-based assessments given throughout year
Data reports will be available, designed with teacher use in mind
EDUCATOR-LED TRAINING TO SUPPORT “PEER-TO-PEER” TRAINING
Training for cadres of K-12 educators around the instructional tools AND around training their peers to use the instructional tools
TIMELY STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA
EDUCATOR-LED TRAINING TO SUPPORT “PEER-TO-PEER” TRAINING

12. Goal #3: Instructional Supports and Tools
Support implementation of the CCSS; support development of assessment blueprints; provide guidance to state, district- and school-level curriculum leaders in the development of aligned instructional materials
Released November 9, 2011; Re-Release late June; Final in August.
Model Content Frameworks
Model Instructional Units
Model Content Frameworks:
The Model Content Frameworks for English language arts/Literacy (ELA/literacy) and Mathematics aim to serve as a bridge between the standards and the PARCC assessments.
The Model Content Frameworks are voluntary and are not intended to be curricula or scopes and sequences. Rather, they provide further articulation of the key shifts in the CCSS and their connection to the PARCC assessment system. The frameworks can be useful to states and districts as they engage in professional development and in their own curricular development efforts.
The Model Content Frameworks were developed through a collaborative state-led process that included mathematics and ELA/literacy content experts in PARCC member states and members of the Common Core State Standards writing team; PARCC helped manage this process. The development process included three rounds of review, including a public review in which about two-thirds of the nearly 2,000 comments were submitted by K-12 educators.
In Spring 2012, PARCC will once again solicit feedback from educators and the public to refine the frameworks as necessary. The updated Model Content Frameworks will be available Summer 2012.
Audience: State and local curriculum directors (primary audience) ; teachers
Model Instructional Units:
Any model instructional units developed by PARCC will be voluntary and aim primarily to provide a common illustration of how the Common Core may be organized and taught in the classroom.
The model instructional units will reflect, build on, and fill gaps in existing or in-process state-developed model units aligned to the Common Core State Standards and the PARCC assessments.
The model units will be developed with educator input to ensure PARCC is developing materials that are most useful to educators.
The model units will add to the robust set of instructional materials being developed across PARCC states, individually and collectively.
The units will serve as resources that teachers can use in their classroom but will also serve as models for teachers and curriculum directors to use as they develop additional materials aligned to the CCSS.
Audience: Teachers; local and state curriculum directors
Provide educators with examples of ways to implement the CCSS in schools; allow for the development and sharing of ideas for instructional implementation of the CCSS; encourage development of additional PARCC tools
Expected Spring 2013
Professional Learning Modules
Model Instructional Units

13. Goal #3: Supports and Tools (continued)
Develop models of innovative, online-delivered items and rich performance tasks proposed for use in the PARCC assessments.
Expected Summer 2012
Item and Task Prototypes
One-stop shop for PARCC resources; provide an online warehouse for all PARCC tools and resources as well as other instructional material being developed by PARCC states and districts and national organizations
Expected Spring 2013
Partnership Resource Center
Develop professional development modules focused on assessments to help teachers, school and district leaders, and testing coordinators understand the new assessment system and use of the data
Expected Fall 2013
Professional Development Modules

14. Goal #4: Develop 21st Century, Technology-Based Assessments
PARCC’s assessment will be computer-based and leverage technology in a range of ways:
Develop innovative tasks that engage students in the assessment process
Streamline administration by reducing paperwork, increase security, reduce shipping/receiving & storage
Increase access to and provision of accommodations for SWDs and ELLs
Make scoring more efficient by combining human and automated approaches
Produce timely reports of students performance throughout the year to inform instructional, interventions, and professional development

15. Goal #5: Advance Accountability at All Levels
PARCC assessments will be purposefully designed to generate valid, reliable and timely data, including measures of growth, for various accountability uses including:
School and district effectiveness
Educator effectiveness
Student placement into college-credit bearing courses
Comparisons with other state and international benchmarks
PARCC assessments will be designed for other accountability uses as states deem appropriate

16. Timeline Through First PARCC Administration in 2014-2015
PARCC Tools & Resources
Partnership Resource Center launched
Professional development modules released
K-2 Formative Tools Released
College-ready tools released
Diagnostic assessments released
Summative PARCC Assessments
Spring
2013
Summer
Winter
2014
Fall
Winter
2015
Spring
2015
Pilot/field testing begins
Model Instructional Units Released
Expanded field testing of diagnostic assessment
Expanded field testing
Optional Diagnostic and Midyear PARCC Assessments
Standard Setting in Summer 2015
PARCC Assessment Implementation