The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers September 2013

A Strong Foundation: The Common Core State Standards Nearly every state in the nation is working individually and collectively to improve its academic standards and assessments to ensure students graduate with the knowledge and skills most demanded by college and careers The Common Core State Standards in English language arts/literacy and mathematics were created by educators around the nation

46 States + DC Have Adopted the Common Core State Standards TALKING POINTS: 46 States and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards Most states are committed to implementing the standards by the 2014-2015 school year *Minnesota adopted the CCSS in ELA/literacy only

Key Advances of the Common Core MATHEMATICS Focus, coherence and clarity: emphasis on key topics at each grade level and coherent progression across grades Procedural fluency and understanding of concepts and skills Promote rigor through mathematical proficiencies that foster reasoning and understanding across discipline High school standards organized by conceptual categories ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS/LITERACY Balance of literature and informational texts; focus on text complexity Emphasis on argument, informative/ explanatory writing, and research Speaking and listening skills Literacy standards for history, science and technical subjects TALKING POINTS Focus, coherence and clarity MATHEMATICS Focus on key topics at each grade level Coherent progressions across grade levels Addresses long-heard criticism of mile-wide, inch-deep math curricula Procedural fluency and understanding of concepts and skills Content standards require both conceptual understanding and procedural fluency Mathematical proficiencies Mathematical proficiencies students should develop (e.g., abstract reasoning, modeling, precision, perseverance, strategic use of tools, making arguments) Using mathematics to understand a problem – even in new or unfamiliar contexts Organized around conceptual categories Standards are organized into conceptual categories and models of traditional, integrated, & advanced courses Promotes various approaches to high school curriculum ELA/LITERACY Reading Balance of literature and informational texts Focus on text complexity and what students read Writing Emphasis on argument and informative/explanatory writing Writing about sources (evidence) – answer questions that require students to have read the text Speaking and Listening Inclusion of formal and informal talk Literacy standards for history, science and technical subjects Promotes the idea that teaching literacy skills is not just the job of the English teacher Complements rather than replaces those subjects BOTH CONTENT AREAS Anchored in college and career readiness Explicitly define the knowledge and skills that students must master to be college and career ready by the end of high school, and the knowledge and skills in each grade that build towards that goal ANCHORED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS

What’s Next? Common Assessments Common Core State Standards are critical, but it is just the first step Common assessments aligned to the Common Core will help ensure the new standards truly reach every classroom TALKING POINTS While the Common Core State Standards are a critical first step, they alone will not bring about the instructional changes necessary to improve student achievement and attainment. Creating common assessments grounded in common standards is the logical next step and will ensure the new standards truly reach every classroom I think we will all agree that the current system is broken. Every state develops their own assessments and for that reasons our nation’s assessments: Are of varying quality and rigor and rarely point toward College- and Career-Readiness. Do not provide meaningful, real-time data for our educators, parents and policymakers Cannot be compared from state to state, ensuring that students in Mass. And Miss. are receiving the same foundation Next generation assessments will: Provide a more complete picture of student performance against college- and career-ready expectations Use current and future technologies to provide a meaningful assessment and useful data Mitigate Challenges associated with mobility—which is a major challenge in education U.S Department of Education set aside $350 million of Race to the Top funding for awards to consortia of states to design and develop common K-12 assessment systems aligned to common, college- and career- ready standards. In Sept. 2010, the U.S. Department of Education awarded grants to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC)

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) TALKING POINTS PARCC is an alliance of 19 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 16 governing board states (and D.C.) represented in Purple. 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 2014-15 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 Leadership Team: Comprised of delegates of K-12 chiefs from Governing Board States (e.g., Assoc. Supt for Curriculum, Assessment and/or Instruction) Technical Advisory Committee: Comprised of state/national assessment experts Governing Board: Comprised of K-12 chiefs from Governing Board States Operational Working Groups: Comprised of national, state, and local experts and leaders in their specific areas of expertise ACCR: Comprised of national and state postsecondary leaders

K-12 and Postsecondary Roles in PARCC K-12 Educators & Education Leaders Educators are involved throughout the development of the PARCC assessments and related instructional and reporting tools to help ensure the system provides the information and resources educators most need Postsecondary Faculty & Leaders Nearly 750 institutions and systems covering hundreds of campuses across PARCC states have committed to help develop the high school assessments and set the college-ready cut score that will indicate a student is ready for credit-bearing courses TALKING POINTS This is a state-led initiative, but the input of those in the field will be crucial. That includes both K-12 teachers and leaders, as well as faculty and leaders from the higher education community. K-12: We have already engaged more than 1,500 educators directly in the process. Some will sit on our content teams and committees that will develop and implement the assessments. Many have provided input through surveys or have simply engaged us in a conversation. We are thrilled to have this involvement and it will only grow as we move forward. This will include the development of K-12 educator cadres that will allow educators the opportunity to learn about PARCC up close and personally, test the instructional tools described above, and get the information they need to educate their peers on PARCC and its related resources. POSTSECONDARY: Our postsecondary community will be vital partners in the creation and implementation of these next generation assessments. This is crucial because the whole point is to make sure we are assessing students for college- and career-readiness. So the postsecondary community will be an important partner in this

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

Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments Priority Purposes of PARCC Assessments: Determine whether students are college- and career-ready or on track Assess the full range of the Common Core Standards, including standards that are difficult to measure Measure the full range of student performance, including the performance 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

Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments To address the priority purposes, PARCC will develop 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 non-summative, optional assessment components designed to Generate timely information for informing instruction, interventions, and professional development during the school year An additional third non-summative component will assess students’ speaking and listening skills For those that have been following the development of PARCC, the Governing Board did make some refinements to the design based on the input from the PARCC states. As with PARCC’s initial design, there will be four components to the PARCC system. PARCC will develop all four components – the first two will be available for all PARCC states and districts to use and administer flexibly. Summative assessment components will: Measure the full range of the CCSS and the full range of student performance, including low- and high-performing students Include achievement levels that signify whether students are “college- and career-ready” by the end of high school and on-track in earlier grades Produce data that can be used to make a variety of accountability determinations, including measures of student growth The formative components will be designed to generate timely information during the academic year that can inform instruction, professional development, and supports and interventions for students. In ELA/literacy, there will be an additional formative component that will assess the speaking and listening standards in the Common Core.

Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments Summative Assessment Components: 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 Non-Summative Assessment Components: 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 Overview of two summative assessment components: Performance-Based Assessment: Administered as close to the end of the year as possible Will include essays and other high-quality, complex items. End-of-Year: Computer-scored, but would be far from the traditional “multiple choice” tests. There will be multistep problems and tasks that students must complete in order to find the correct answer. Overview of formative components: Early Assessments: Designed to be administered close to the beginning of the year. Will provide an early snapshot of achievement knowledge and skills so that educators can tailor instruction, supports for students, and professional development to meet students’ needs. Mid-Year Assessment: Designed to be administered near the middle of the school year. Performance-based Will focus on hard-to-measure standards in the CCSS Teachers could score this assessment to get quick feedback on student learning relative to the CCSS. These components are: are formative assessments are developed by PARCC with its grant funds are available to all PARCC states and their local districts are intended to be administered early and midway through the school year however, allow for flexible administration-- they can be administered at locally determined times, including at the discretion of the classroom teacher can be scored quickly -- some can be computer administered and scored, others can be scored by the classroom teacher -- so that teachers can have timely information that can inform instruction for their students

PARCC Assessments ELA/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3–11 Beginning of School Year End of School Year Flexible administration Performance-Based Assessment Diagnostic Assessment Mid-Year Assessment End-of-Year Assessment Speaking and Listening Assessment Key: Optional Required

Higher Expectations ELA/Literacy Math Read sufficiently complex texts independently Write effectively to sources Build and present knowledge through research Math Solve problems: content and mathematical practice Reason mathematically Model real-world problems Have fluency with mathematics

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 19 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

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 101-103: PD focused on the implementation the new assessments Common Assessment 201-204: 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

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

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

Implementation and Instructional Support & Next Steps

PARCC’s Implementation Support & Stakeholder Engagement To support state efforts to implement and transition to the Common Core and next generation assessments, PARCC will facilitate: Strategic planning and collective problem solving for the implementation of CCSS and PARCC assessments Collaborative efforts to develop the highest priority instructional and support tools Multi-state support to build leadership cadres of educators Multi-state support to engage the postsecondary community around the design and use of the assessments Strategic planning and collective problem solving PARCC will convene two multi-state transition and implementation strategic planning institutes per year where state leadership teams composed of state and district leaders will: Receive support to develop and execute strategic transition and implementation plans, Focus on common policy decisions, challenges, and milestones, and Monitor progress against their strategic plans In between the convenings, there will be regularly-held webinars on specific high-priority topics to help all states continue to make progress towards implementation Collaborative efforts to develop the highest priority instructional tools: PARCC is developing a robust set of high-quality instructional tools to help the education community transition to the next generation assessment system. Content Frameworks will help identify priority big ideas in the standards that can help determine the focus for the various assessment components. While one intended audience is district-level curriculum supervisors and state content experts, the frameworks will also be easily accessible to teachers Model instructional units aligned to the CCSS and PARCC content frameworks, and anchored around a PARCC assessment component Sample assessment tasks that will mirror the tasks that will be included on the PARCC assessments Professional development modules to help teachers, counselors, school leaders and school site testing coordinators understand the PARCC system College-ready tools, such as model 12th-grade bridge courses for students who don’t score college ready on the high school assessments. PARCC also has a few tools planned to support the new assessment system including: Diagnostic Tools in Reading, Writing, Math: a computer-adaptive tool to identify students’ reading level and supply suggestions for appropriate texts for students to read to stretch their reading and put them on a growth path. K-2 Assessments in ELA/Literacy and Mathematics, which are optional for states to administer Partnership Resource Center, which will house the model content frameworks’ sample assessment tasks; released items with item data, student work, and rubrics Multi-state support to build leadership cadres of educators who are deeply engaged in the use of those tools, the CCSS and the PARCC assessments. Multi-state support to engage the postsecondary community around the design and use of the assessments

Major Milestones through 2011-12 PARCC Tools & Resources Model Content Frameworks released (Nov 2011) Educator Leader Cadres launched Item and task prototypes released Fall 2011 Winter 2012 Spring Summer Fall 2012 Updated Model Content Frameworks Released Item development begins PARCC Assessment Implementation

Major Milestones 2012-13 June 2012 Minimum Technology Specifications, version 1.0 Item Development Begins August 2012 Item and Task Prototypes September 2012 Principles for Comparability with SBAC October 2012 College- and Career-Ready Determination Policy November 2012 Item Tryout and Field Testing RFP December 2012 College- and Career-Ready Assessments in Mathematics Retest Policy Minimum Technology Specifications, version 2.0 March 2013 Assessment Administration Capacity Planning Tool Estimated Time on Task Item Development Research April 2013 Draft Performance Level Descriptors Draft Accommodations Manual Test Blueprints

Looking Ahead June 2013 Guidance on Participation in Field Test and Practice Tests Final Subject- and Grade-Level Performance Level Descriptors Adopted Final Accommodations Manual Adopted Summer 2013 Additional Sample Items Estimates for Assessment Cost Notification to Schools/Districts Selected for Field Test Fall 2013 Design of Student Score Reports Minimum Technology Specifications, version 3.0 Training for IEP Writing Teams Based on Accommodations Manual Sample Items Re-Released in PARCC Technology Platform Spring 2014 Field Test Administration and Practice Test Fall 2014 Operational Assessment Administration Manual SY 2014-15 Operational Administration of PARCC Summative Assessments Summer 2015 Standard Setting Throughout 2013-14 Additional Guidance to Districts on Assessment Administration

Areas of Focus for Transition to PARCC Technical Developing an interoperable technology platform Transitioning to a computer-based assessment system Developing and implementing automated scoring systems and processes Developing effective, innovative item types Implementation Estimating costs over time, including long- term budgetary planning Transitioning to the new assessments at the classroom level Ensuring long-term sustainability Policy Student supports and interventions Accountability High school course requirements College admissions/ placement Perceptions about what these assessments can do TALKING POINTS First, states came together with a commitment to improve standards and assessments. That commitment came with challenges that states accepted knowing there is a better way. Obviously, our consortium states will undergo a lengthy, bumpy transition from old to new assessments. PARCC sees three areas of concern where attention will be needed: Technical Challenges: Addressing the technology gaps for the implementation, administration and scoring of these next generation assessments. Implementation Challenges: We must make sure our states and districts are ready to transition to these new assessments by 2014-2015 and that they can sustain. Obviously, the biggest concern of all states right now is the budget. That won’t change in the next few years. Policy Challenges: These assessments will require some, if not all of our states to review their policies and make adjustments. Through outreach and support we must make sure there are no “surprises.” While these are real challenges, states can overcome them. We have already witnessed unprecedented collaboration between states and that must continue to reach their shared goals.

PARCC Highlights: The Work is Underway Quarterly Governing Board meetings where major decisions have been made around assessment design, procurement schedule, committee structure and by-laws Contracts awarded to support development of items and tasks and execute item tryouts and field testing Consortium-wide and in-state meetings, including first two Transition & Implementation Institutes, each attended by 200 state and district leaders Release of final by-laws, Model Content Frameworks, procurement schedule, and launch of PARCC website (www.parcconline.org) Direct engagement with over 2,000 educators, K-12 and postsecondary leaders and state and local officials in nearly all 19 PARCC states

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers September 2013 Website: www.PARCConline.org Sample Items: http://www.parcconline.org/samples/item-task-prototypes Twitter: @PARCCPlace