PARCC Update for MA Legislature June 25, 2014 Commissioners: Mitchell Chester (Elementary and Secondary) Higher Education (Richard Freeland) Bob Bickerton, MCAS-PARCC Transitions Coordinator Maureen LaCroix, Special Assistant

Agenda PURPOSE: Improve Student Success MA Continuous Improvement & Leadership Test Drive: Year One Spring 2014 PARCC Field Tests District, School & Educator Engagement Test Drive: Year Two Spring 2015 District Choice – PARCC or MCAS Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Improve Student Success MA legacy of rigorous standards and assessments #1 nationally & top tier internationally Lessons learned: What we must improve More than 1 in 3 HS graduates who enroll in public higher education require non-credit bearing remedial courses Historic agreement between K-12 & Higher Education Enroll directly in credit bearing freshman courses Assessment that reflects the world our children live in More comprehensive & authentic assessments Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

MA Continuous Improvement & Leadership Next generation standards Teams of MA educators convened to upgrade English language arts (English Language Arts-ELA) & Math Frameworks in 2008 Merged development teams with “Common Core” multi-state process sponsored by NGA and CCSSO; extensive field contributions & comments Board set high bar before adopting in 2010 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

MA Continuous Improvement & Leadership Next generation assessments Application of skills, online testing included when MCAS was rebid in 2009 – stalled by recession MA set high bar when joined consortium of PARCC states – to adopt, PARCC must be better than MCAS To drive PARCC to be a better assessment than MCAS Commissioner Chester chairs governing board Commissioner Freeland co-chairs the higher education board DESE staff & MA educators deeply engaged to ensure quality Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Where We are on the 2-Year PARCC “Test Drive” 2013 BESE votes on 2-year “test drive” Mar-Jun 2014 PBA and EOY field tests Jun*-Oct 1, 2014 Districts choose PARCC or MCAS 2015 Operational PARCC and MCAS testing Fall 2015 BESE votes whether to adopt PARCC 2016 PARCC is implemented or transition begins to another “next-gen” assessment Today *June 30 is PARCC “guarantee” deadline Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Competency Determination MA high school graduation testing requirement for English Language Arts & Mathematics will continue to be based upon the 10th grade MCAS through the class of 2019 The “class of 2019” students are in 7th grade today and will take the 10th grade tests in 2017 The graduation requirement for Science will continue to be based upon 9th & 10th grade MCAS tests for the foreseeable future Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

PARCC Field Test Update Most schools in Massachusetts participated Approx. 81,000 students in 1,050 schools in 345 districts March 24 to April 11: Performance Based Assessment window 41,000 students tested online 17,000 students tested with pencil and paper May 5 to June 6: End of Year Assessment window 33,500 students tested online 14,500 students tested with pencil and paper Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Feedback from 37,000 Students & 371 Test Proctors about PARCC Online The majority of students Liked taking online tests over paper-and-pencil tests Said they had enough time to answer questions, found typing ELA questions “easy,” – that they had been taught the content & skills covered by the test Found answering math questions more challenging Use a computer or tablet regularly at home (87%) & in school (60%) The vast majority of test proctors Had never before administered an online test (81%) Agreed that testing time was sufficient for most students Cited need to improve training & support from the vendor Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

District, School & Educator Engagement MA educators From grades 3-11 participated in the review of thousands of PARCC items Include 24 PARCC Fellows (18 K-12, 6 public H.E.) Participate on the PARCC Advisory Committee convened by Commissioners Chester & Freeland ESE staff & PARCC Fellows Have completed more than 100 PARCC presentations across the state – including trainings in support of implementation of the 2010 standards for ELA & Math Provided additional training & support to districts & schools involved in the PARCC field test Will increase support in preparation for 2015 operational tests Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

The PARCC or MCAS Choice in 2015 MCAS is familiar Schools, parents & students look forward to reviewing their results & comparing to prior years PARCC is new PARCC designed to assess the full range of 2010 ELA & Math standards – including college readiness Students & schools participating in PARCC will have a head start demonstrating their readiness for a next generation assessment MCAS is 17 years old this year – we need to upgrade whether or not PARCC is the right test Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

“Hold Harmless” for Schools Administering PARCC in 2015 The accountability levels of schools administering PARCC will stay the same or improve – they cannot decline Schools administering MCAS will be classified into a level as usual, & will not be held harmless. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

The PARCC/MCAS Choice (Spring 2015) Students will take either PARCC or MCAS next year The technology challenge: Most schools require more devices and/or bandwidth Schools that are ready to administer PARCC online may do so; additional support will be provided by the PARCC assessment vendor & ESE staff Schools that are not ready to test online can choose to administer the paper-and-pencil version of PARCC ESE will issue full parent, school, & district reports – whether districts test with PARCC or MCAS Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Technology Funding Federal eRate The FCC has sharpened the focus of eRate funding on K-12 technology infrastructure Funding is doubled to $2B over the coming two years State Education Technology Bond Bill First since 1999 Submitted by Governor, passed House, reported favorably by Senate Bond Committee Would provide $38M for K-12 technology Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

The PARCC/MCAS Choice The deadline for districts to choose PARCC or MCAS is October 1, 2014 A “choice guarantee” is offered to districts that submit their choice by June 30th The PARCC/MCAS choice is binding after June 30th Districts may change which schools will test online & which will administer the paper-and-pencil version through October 31, 2014 The 2015 MCAS & PARCC testing windows are: MCAS 2015 Testing Dates ELA testing window: March 23-April 6 Math and G5/G8 STE testing window: May 4-May 19 HS STE testing window: June 2-5 PARCC 2015 Testing Dates (tentative) Performance-Based Assessment: March 16-April 10 for computer-based testing; March 23-April 3 for paper-based testing End-of-Year: May 4-29 for computer-based testing; May 11-22 for paper-based testing * Grades 9 and 11 are optional and subject to appropriation Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

District Choice Through 6/24/14 84% of Districts have responded “Early Decision” Choices due June 30 Requests made between June 30 & October 1 are subject to availability GRADES # DIS-TRICTS MCAS PARCC # % Grades 3-8 187 83 45% 104 55% Grades 9 and/or 11 150 N/A 38 25% Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

PARCC: Anticipated Decision Criteria in Fall 2015 RIGOR (achievement expectations) MCAS/PARCC comparison QUALITY Items aligned with full range of & full continuum of student performance Provides valid & reliable assessment of students’ knowledge, skills & abilities COVERAGE Provides measures of student performance on all standards, including the hardest to assess + TECHNOLOGY Readiness and Paper Option Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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