1. The Assessment Consortia An Overview of the Designs of PARCC
Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
11/8/2019
The Assessment Consortia
An Overview of the Designs of PARCC
(adapted)
Updated July 27, 2011
Pascal (Pat) D. Forgione, Jr., Ph.D. and Nancy A. Doorey
Center for K – 12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS

2. The Uniqueness of This Moment: Inflection Point
Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
The Uniqueness of This Moment: Inflection Point
11/8/2019
Thomas Friedman in “The World is Flat” points out
the importance of “inflection points” in history.
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) can become an “inflection point” for American public education - establishing a common foundation for building excellence and equity for all students. RI IL FL CA CT PA
State silos of cost, effort, expertise
The Common Core State Standards are so significant because they take us out of our state-unique silos and create a shared platform for connection and collaboration across states:
Instructional units developed for 3rd grade math in Connecticut are immediately useful to the teacher in Kentucky.
A high-impact intervention developed in Miami for ELL students can be downloaded and used the next day in Middletown, Connecticut.
Those in the educational materials marketplace will need to compete to provide the most effective materials, and more customized materials for the many small special needs groups.
Some may see the development of the Common Core as threatening state independence, but I see this as the most powerful and promising event in education in decades.
But we’re not there yet. The Common Core State Standards alone won’t bring about the inflection point. Common performance standards and assessments, will be required to ensure that we truly are in alignment in our expectations for students, and we will need the interactive, two-way, online digital library of resources. We’ll talk about that further in a moment.
But first, let me describe the new assessment systems that have been proposed as part of the RTTT initiative.
Interactive Digital Library
Shared platform for collaboration, cost and effort efficiencies, sharing of best practices
8-Nov-19

3. Background Information…
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a consortium of 24 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.
These new K-12 assessments will build a pathway to college and career readiness by the end of high school, mark students’ progress toward this goal from 3rd grade up, and provide teachers with timely information to inform instruction and provide student support.
The PARCC assessments will be ready for states to administer during the school year.
8-Nov-19

4. Background Information
What brought all of these states together is a shared
commitment to develop an assessment system aligned to
the Common Core State Standards that is:
anchored in college and career readiness
provides comparability across states
has the ability to assess and measure higher-order skills such as critical thinking, communications, and problem solving
provides truly useful information for educators, parents, and students alike
8-Nov-19

5. As you read, please reflect upon…
In what ways are the PARCC assessments similar and different to our current assessment system?
What three things might you share with your staff about PARCC assessments?
Have you been to the PARCC website to learn more?
8-Nov-19

6. Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
11/8/2019
Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers:
PARCC
Revised design as of June 2011, pending USED approval.
8-Nov-19

7. PARCC: Two Components of the Summative Assessment
Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
PARCC: Two Components of the Summative Assessment
11/8/2019
In mathematics and in English language arts (ELA):
PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENT
END OF YEAR
ASSESSMENT +
Given primarily on computer or other
digital devices
Composed primarily performance tasks
with emphasis on hard-to-measure
standards
Results returned within 2 weeks
Given on computer (most students), with
multiple item types and technological
tools
Scored entirely by computer for
fast results
Scores from the performance assessment and the end-of-year
test will be combined for annual accountability scores.
8-Nov-19

8. PARCC: Performance Assessment
Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
11/8/2019
Final weeks of school year
PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENT
ELA
Math
Over several sessions/class periods, students will complete a project-like task that draws on a range of skills.
ELA/literacy tasks will focus on writing
effectively when analyzing texts, using
evidence drawn from the texts to support
claims
Math tasks will require students to apply key
mathematical skills, concepts and processes to
solve complex problems of the types
encountered in everyday life, work and
decision-making.
8-Nov-19

9. PARCC: End-of-Year Assessment
Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
PARCC: End-of-Year Assessment
11/8/2019
END OF YEAR
ASSESSMENT
Consisting of a range of item types including innovative
technology-enhanced items to sample the full set of
grade level standards
Will make major investment in enhanced item types
Will include items across a range of cognitive demand
Currently planned as a fixed-form test, PARCC will review the precision of scores
for students at the tails of the performance distribution and, if needed, consider
customizing for high- and low-performing students by either lengthening the test
or using “staged” or “block” adaptive delivery.
8-Nov-19

10. PARCC: Speaking/Listening Assessment
Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
PARCC: Speaking/Listening Assessment
11/8/2019
Final weeks of school year
ELA/Literacy
Speaking
Listening
Flexible timing
Required assessment, but not used for accountability
Administered in the ELA classroom, with flexible window for administration
Scored by classroom teacher using standardized rubric
Scores may be used within students’ grades
8-Nov-19

11. PARCC Supports: Formative Assessments
Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
11/8/2019
Formative early assessment designed to
provide an indicator of student knowledge
and skills so that instruction, supports and
professional development can be tailored to
student needs
Formative mid-year performance tasks
designed to prepare students for Summative
Performance Assessment and to yield
instructionally useful feedback.
Teachers will be given an online scoring
tool to score tasks and improve
understanding of the CCSS expectations.
For voluntary use, the timing of the
administration is to be locally determined
Early indicator of knowledge and skills to inform instruction, supports, PD
EARLY ASSESSMENT
Mid-Year Performance- Based Assessment
(Potentially summative*)
MID-YEAR ASSESSMENT
Timing of formative components is flexible
* Over time, states may consider using scores from these tasks in the summative/accountability scores.

12. PARCC Supports: The Partnership Resource Center
Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
PARCC Supports: The Partnership Resource Center
11/8/2019
PARTNERSHIP RESOURCE CENTER: Digital library of released items, formative assessments, model content frameworks, instructional and formative tools and resources; student and educator tutorials and practice tests, scoring training modules; professional development materials; and an interactive report generation system
Partnership Resource Center:
Interactive Data Tool for accessing data and creating customized reports
Model lesson plans
Formative assessment items and tasks
Professional development materials regarding test administration,
scoring, and use of data
Online practice tests
Item development portal
Tools and resources developed by Partner states
Optional “ready-to-use” performance tasks for K-2
8-Nov-19

13. PARCC Supports: Supplemental Application Grant
Transition and Implementation Planning
State leadership teams
Educator Leadership Cadres
Technical Working Groups
Collaboration on Instructional Tools
Framework of priority assets
Prototypes of through-course components
Set of 38 voluntary instructional units
Voluntary college-readiness tools such as model grade 12 bridge courses for struggling students
Support for Technology Transitions
Coordination with SBAC
8-Nov-19

14. The PARCC Assessment System (July 2011 revision, pending USED approval)
Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
11/8/2019
English Language Arts and Mathematics, Grades 3–8 and High School
PARTNERSHIP RESOURCE CENTER: Digital library of released items; formative assessments; model content frameworks; instructional and formative tools and resources; student and educator tutorials and practice tests; scoring training modules; professional development materials; and an interactive report generation system.
Early indicator of knowledge and skills to inform instruction, supports, PD
Component 1
EARLY ASSESSMENT
Mid-Year Performance- Based Assessment
(Potentially summative)
Component 2
MID-YEAR ASSESSMENT
ELA/Literacy
Speaking
Listening
Comp 5
Flexible timing
Comp 3
END-OF-YEAR
ASSESSMENT
Comp 4
PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENT
ELA
Math
Timing of formative components is flexible
Summative, but not used for accountability
Summative assessment for accountability
Formative
Assessment
Developed by The Center for K–12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS, version 4, July For detailed information on PARCC, go to

15. PARCC Implementation Milestones
Prepared by the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS
11/8/2019
Item and task development, piloting of components
Release of Model Content Frameworks and prototype items and tasks
Development of professional development resources and online platform
Field testing
New summative assessments in use
Summer 2015
Setting of common achievement standards
8-Nov-19