1. A Better Way of Measuring What Students Know and Can Do in ELA/Literacy and Math
October 2013

2. By States…for States Developed by educators in nearly two dozen states
Aligned to the Common Core
field testing
roll out
• The Performance-based assessment (Given after three-fourths of the year is over)
Captures critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
Math will focus on reasoning and modeling real-world problems
ELA/literacy’s focus includes writing effectively when analyzing texts.
• The End-of-year assessment (Given after 90 percent of the year is over)
In math, students must demonstrate further understanding of key concepts and mathematical fluency.
The ELA/literacy EOY test centers around reading comprehension.

3. By Educators for Students
Thousands of K-12 educators are leading test development
More than 1,000 educators serve as PARCC Educator Leader Cadres, spearheading professional development
Hundreds of faculty from colleges and universities developing high school tests

4. Tests Worth Taking More challenging than current tests
Next-generation design
Measures college and career readiness
Aligned to the Common Core State Standards
Measures writing across grades
Timely data for students and teachers
Supports different learning styles and abilities
Comparable scores across states

5. Multiple Assessments ELA/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3–11
Beginning of School Year
End of School Year
Flexible administration
PerformanceBased
Diagnostic
Mid Year
End of Year
Summative Tests
Performance-based assessment will focus on reading comprehension and writing effectively when analyzing texts.
End-of-year assessment will focus on reading comprehension.
Non-summative Tests
Speaking and listening will help identify how students are communicating, listening, and comprehending the ideas of others.
Diagnostic assessment will indicate how students are doing throughout the year so instruction, support and interventions can be tailored to meet students needs.
Speaking and Listening
Key:
Optional
Required

6. Preparing All Students for College and Careers
K–2
Grades 3–8
High School
Ongoing student support/interventions
Success In first-year, college courses or job training
Voluntary K–2 assessment being developed, aligned to the Common Core State Standards
Timely data showing whether ALL students are on track for college and career readiness
College and career readiness score to identify who is ready for college-level coursework
Additional interventions for those off track:
State-developed 12th-grade bridge courses
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
Professional development for educators

7. Supporting Classroom Teachers
INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
K–12
Educators
TIMELY ACHIEVEMENT DATA
“PEER-TO-PEER” LEARNING

8. ELA/Literacy Students will have to:
Show they can read and understand complex reading passages
Write persuasively
Conduct research and present findings
Demonstrate speaking and listening skills

9. Conventions and Knowledge of Language
ELA/Literacy
Students read and comprehend a range of sufficiently complex texts independently.
Students write effectively when using and/or analyzing sources.
Students build and present knowledge through research and the integration, comparison, and synthesis of ideas.
Reading Literature
Reading Informational Text
Vocabulary Interpretation and Use
Written Expression
Conventions and Knowledge of Language
Confidential - Not for Distribution

10. Grade 3: Master Basic Reading Skills
SAMPLE ITEM
Student Directions
Drag the words from the word box into the correct locations on the graphic to show the life cycle of a butterfly as described in “How Animals Live.” 1) 2) 3) 4)
Words
Egg
Adult
Pupa
Larva

11. Grade 7: Use Text to Support Ideas
SAMPLE ITEM
Student Directions
Based on the information in the text “Biography of Amelia Earhart,” write an essay that summarizes and explains the challenges Earhart faced throughout her life.
Remember to use evidence from what you read to support your ideas.
Specific CCSS alignment to:
RI.7.1 (use of evidence); RI.7.2 (summary of text); RI.7.10 (complex texts).
W.7.2 (writing to explain or inform); W.7.4 (writing coherently); W.7.9 (drawing evidence from texts).
L (grammar and conventions).
Requires writing to sources rather than to a de-contextualized or generalized prompt (e.g., asks about a specific aspect of Earhart’s life).
Requires students to draw evidence from the text and cite this evidence clearly.
Requires students to apply the knowledge of language and conventions when writing.
Purposely designed to help students gather information for writing the final analytic essay that asks students to evaluate the arguments made in three texts about Earhart’s bravery (i.e., her bravery can be expressed as her ability to face the many challenges).

12. Grade 7: Cont’d SAMPLE ITEM Student Directions
Below are three claims that one could make based on the article “Earhart’s Final Resting Place Believed Found.”
Part A: Highlight the claim that is supported by the most relevant and sufficient facts within “Earhart’s Final Resting Place Believed Found.”
Part B: Click on two facts within the article that best provide evidence to support the claim selected in Part A.
Claims
Earhart and Noonan lived as castaways on Nikumaroro Island.
Earhart and Noonan’s plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
People don’t really know where Earhart and Noonan died.
Specific CCSS alignment to:
RI.7.1 (use of evidence).
RI.7.8 (author’s claims and evidence).
RI.7.10 (complex texts).
This item helps students gather information and details for use on the first and second Prose Constructed Response.
Requires students to employ reasoning skills, since all of the claims listed could be made, but only one is supported by the most relevant and sufficient facts.
Reflects the key shift of reading closely and weighing evidence by offering credit for Part B only if Part A is correct.
Technology enables students to highlight evidence that supports their understanding.

13. Grade 7: Cont’d SAMPLE ITEM Student Directions
You have read three texts describing Amelia Earhart. All three include the claim that Earhart was a brave, courageous person. The three texts are:
“Biography of Amelia Earhart”
“Earhart’s Final Resting Place Believed Found”
“Amelia Earhart’s Life and Disappearance”
Consider the argument each author uses to demonstrate Earhart’s bravery.
Write an essay that analyzes the strength of the arguments about Earhart’s bravery in at least two of the texts. Remember to use evidence from what you read to support your ideas.
Specific CCSS alignment to:
RI.7.1 (use of evidence); RI.7.8 (evaluate claims in a text); RI.7.9 (comparison of authors’ presentation); RI.7.10 (complex texts).
W.7.2 (writing to inform and explain); W.7.4 (writing coherently); W.7.7 (conduct short research projects); W.7.8 (gather relevant information from multiple sources); W.7.9 (drawing evidence from texts).
L (grammar and conventions).
Measures the ability to compare and synthesize ideas across multiple texts and the ability to analyze the strength of various arguments.
Asks students to write to sources rather than write to a de-contextualized prompt.
Focuses on students rigorously citing evidence for their answer.
Requires students to delve deeply into multiple texts to gather evidence to analyze a given claim, simulating the research process.
Requires students to demonstrate they can apply the knowledge of language and conventions when writing.

14. High School: Synthesize and Analyze
Students will have to show they can:
Analyze complex passages
Conduct research and apply that to solve problems or address a particular issue
Identify areas for research, narrow those topics and adjust research methodology as necessary
Evaluate and synthesize primary and secondary resources, then develop and defend conclusions
Communicate findings verbally and in writing

15. High School Sample Item
Student Directions
Use what you have learned from reading “Daedalus and Icarus” by Ovid and “To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph” by Anne Sexton to write an essay that provides an analysis of how Sexton transforms Daedalus and Icarus.
As a starting point, you may want to consider what is emphasized, absent, or different in the two texts, but feel free to develop your own focus for analysis.
Develop your essay by providing textual evidence from both texts. Be sure to follow the conventions of standard English.

16. In Math, Students will … Solve grade-level problems
Express mathematical reasoning by constructing mathematical arguments and critiques
Solve real-world problems
Demonstrate mathematical fluency

17. Three Types of Math Tasks
Concepts, skills and procedures
a2+b2=c2
Mathematical reasoning
Model and apply what they know to solve problems a b c c a b

18. Grade 3: Showing, Not Guessing
SAMPLE ITEM
Part A
A farmer plants ¾ of the field with soybeans.
Drag the soybean to the field as many times as needed to show the fraction of the field that is planted with soybeans.
A fairly traditional fraction task in a computer-based setting.
Unlike traditional multiple choice, it is difficult to guess the correct answer or use a choice elimination strategy.
More than one correct solution.
Unlike paper-and-pencil tests, students can create a visual representation even though the task is scored automatically.

19. Grade 3: Cont’d = SAMPLE ITEM Part B
Type a fraction different than ¾ in the boxes that also represents the fractional part of the farmer’s field that is planted with soybeans. 3 = 4

20. Grade 6: A Look at Measurement
SAMPLE ITEM
Drag the slider to explore the relationship between the number of inches and the number of centimeters.
Select all of the statements that accurately represent the relationship between the number of inches and the number of centimeters.
The ratio of centimeters to inches is 1 to 2.54.
The ratio of centimeters to inches is 2.54 to 1.
i=2.54c, where i represents the number of inches and c represents the number of centimeters
c=2.54i, where i represents the number of inches and c represents the number of centimeters.
For every centimeter, there are 2.54 inches.
For every inch, there are 2.54 centimeter.

21. Connecting School to the Real World
Students will be expected to:
Apply mathematical ways of thinking to real-world issues and challenges
Develop a depth of understanding of mathematics and demonstrate an ability to apply math concepts and skills to new situations

22. High School: Deeper Understanding of Core Content
SAMPLE ITEM
Item has two possible solutions
Students have to recognize the nature of the equation to know how to solve
Technology prevents guessing and working backward

23. Promoting Student Access
PARCC is committed to the following principles:
Use Universal Design principles to create accessible tests
Measure the full range of complexity of the CC standards
Use technology to make the assessment highly accessible
Conduct bias and sensitivity reviews of all items

24. Promoting Success: College without Remediation
Students will be able to enter into entry-level, credit-bearing courses at postsecondary institutions without remediation in ELA/Literacy and/or math
Guaranteed exemption from remedial coursework at more than 700 colleges and universities
For more, go to: parcc-assessment-policies

25. PARCC estimated costs similar to current median costs
$29.50 Reading, Writing & Math
$29.94 Current median for State Tests
Add the percentage of per pupil spending
This represents less than 1 percent of per pupil spending in the U.S.

26. Testing Time
PARCC tests are being given instead of, not in addition to, current state tests. Testing time may increase in some states, while it will decrease or stay the same in others.
Estimated time it will take students to complete both ELA/literacy and math tests combined at each grade level:
This represents less than 1 percent of the time a student spends in school.
8 hours annually in 3rd grade
Just over 9 hours annually in grades 4–5
Little less than 9.5 hours annually in middle school
Little more than 9.5 hours annually in high school

27. Technology in Schools
PARCC tests can be taken on a range of devices including: desktops, laptops, netbooks and tablets. These should be available for instruction and testing.
Some rule-of-thumb guidance:
Schools with up to three tested grades should consider having at least one device for every two students for the largest tested grade.
A school that has six tested grades, such as a K–8 school, should consider having one device per student in the largest tested grade.

28. Model Content Frameworks: A Tool for Teachers
Available in math and ELA/literacy and serve as a guide for the development of the tests
They can help teachers implement the Common Core by providing examples of how the standards could be laid out over the year.
For more on Model Content Frameworks, visit: parcc-model-content-frameworks

29. PARCC Timeline 2012 2013 2010 2011 Still to Come... 2014 2015 2016
SEPTEMBER
States launch PARCC
SUMMER
Model Content Frameworks Released
AUGUST  
Item Prototypes Released 
APRIL  
Test Blueprints released 
AUGUST  
Sample Items Released
2012
2013
2010
2011
DECEMBER
Governing Board meets
SUMMER
Educator Leader Cadres Launched
OCTOBER
College and Career Ready Determination Policy Adopted
SUMMER
PARCC becomes independent nonprofit
Still to Come...
2014
2015
2016
WINTER/SPRING
Field Testing/Release of Practice Test
SPRING
First Administration of New Tests
SUMMER
Establishment of Cut Scores
FALL
Release of Diagnostic and Formative Assessments
FALL
Use of Cut Scores for IHE Placement

30. Learn more about PARCC
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers