1 1 (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) Spring 2014 WSTA Field Test 1

Overview 2 1.What is PARCC? 2.Pilot Process 3.Test Types & Schedule 4. Questions?

What is PARCC? 3 PARCC is a new assessment designed to test 21 st century skills and college and career readiness It may replace MCAS next year

What is PARCC? 4 There is a computer-based and a paper-based version. The WSTA is piloting the paper-based version this year in both Math and Literacy.

What is PARCC? 5 All of our students will take the PARCC assessments this year, except students who take the MCAS Alt Assessment. Our 5 th and 8 th graders will also take the MCAS Science & Technology test.

This year and next year we are trying out the test. This is a “test of the test” not a test of our students. No results will be shared with Chelsea Public Schools, students or parents Our school accountability status will not change this year Pilot Process 6

Data will be used to make any necessary changes to the test and test administration; and for states to decide if they will officially choose PARCC The Chelsea PARCC Pilot Committee will be asking for feedback to make suggestions for future roll-out Pilot Process 7

MCASPARCC Only happens at the end of the yearHappens at two different times during the year Untimed – students can test all day Timed - students have to finish within a certain amount of time (unless they have extended time on their IEP or ELL plan) Accommodations are available for students with disabilities and English Language Learners Some accessiblity features (like small group settings, text-to-speech) are available for ALL students. Additional accommodations are available for students with disabilities and English Language Learners Tests writing in 4 th and 7 th gradeTests writing in all grades Some Key Differences 8

Performance-Based (PBA) Component March 24 th – April 9 th Literary Analysis (120 min) Research (120 min) Narrative (120 min) Math Session 1 (75 min) Math Session 2 (75 min) End of Year (EOY) Component May 5 th – June 3 rd Literacy Session 1 (105 min) Literacy Session 2 (105 min) Math Session 1 (85 min) Math Session 2 (85 min) Test Types & Schedule 9

Test Types 10 PARCC students will be writing in response to reading or writing to a source, skills that are very important in college and in an increasing number of jobs.

Math Assessments 11 In mathematics, students will receive credit for their work (not just for the answer) and will have access to graphing, measuring, and problem solving tools.

Questions? 12 Do you have any questions about PARCC?