The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) AACRAO: Bridges to the Future San Francisco April 17, 2013 Allison Jones, Vice President of Postsecondary Collaboration Achieve

Academic Preparation and Expectations Gap 2 In many states, students can earn a high school diploma without the skills necessary for success in college and careers resulting in high remediation rates. ≠ What students are typically expected to know at the end of high school, as defined by state standards, required curriculum and assessments The knowledge and skills demanded by postsecondary and employers for successful first-year students and new employees. RESULT

The Goal: College Access and Success 3 Identify a set of core competencies that represent a baseline of college and career ready academic standards Agree upon a common definition of college and career readiness Develop innovative assessment system aligned to the standards - – to help ensure new standards reach every classroom. And – to provide clear signals to educators, parents and students about college readiness prior to high school graduation Establish a College and Career Ready Determination Assessment accepted and used by postsecondary faculty and administrators that guarantees student placement into entry-level, credit-bearing college courses without the need for remediation. Provide early interventions, tools and transition courses to ensure students meet postsecondary goals.

4 The Common Core State Standards Identify a Set of Core Competencies that Represent A Baseline for College and Career Readiness

46 States + DC Have Adopted the Common Core State Standards 5 * Minnesota adopted the CCSS in ELA only

Key Advances of the Common Core ANCHORED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS 6

7 Claims Driving Design: ELA/Literacy Students are on-track or ready for college and careers Students read and comprehend a range of sufficiently complex texts independently Reading Literature Reading Informational Text Vocabulary Interpretation and Use Students write effectively when using and/or analyzing sources. Written Expression Conventions and Knowledge of Language Students build and present knowledge through research and the integration, comparison, and synthesis of ideas.

Colleges and universities require students to – – Analyze complex text – Conduct research and apply that research to solve problems or address a particular issue – Identify areas for research, narrow those topics and adjust research methodology as necessary, and evaluate and synthesize primary and secondary resources as they develop and defend their own conclusions Standards require students to – – Conduct short, focused projects and longer term in-depth research – Identify and analyze credible information – Communicate research findings both verbally and in writing Important to Higher Education Faculty: ELA and Literacy Standards 8

9 Claims Driving Design: Mathematics Students solve problems involving the major content for their grade level with connections to practices Students solve problems involving the additional and supporting content for their grade level with connections to practices Students express mathematical reasoning by constructing mathematical arguments and critiques Students solve real world problems engaging particularly in the modeling practice Student demonstrate fluency in areas set forth in the Standards for Content in grades 3-6 Students are on-track or ready for college and careers

The high school mathematics standards: – Identify the mathematics that all students should study in order to be college and career ready – Emphasize mathematical modeling and the use of mathematics and statistics To analyze empirical situations, Understand them better, and Improve decisions The standards require students to: – Apply mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues and challenges – Develop a depth of understanding and ability to apply mathematics to novel situations Important to Higher Education Faculty: High School Mathematics Standards 10

The PARCC Assessment System: Design and Critical Advances

What is PARCC?  innovative assessment system  aligned to the Common Core State Standards  provides clear signals about college and career readiness prior to high school graduation 12

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) 13

PARCC Assessment Priorities 1.Determine whether students are college- and career-ready or on track 2.Provide actionable data to inform instruction, interventions and professional development 3.Measure the full range of student performance, including the performance of high and low performing students 4.Assess the full range of the Common Core Standards, including standards that are difficult to measure 5.Incorporate innovative approaches throughout the system 6.Compare performance across states and internationally 7.Provide data for accountability, including measures of growth 14

Assessment Design English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics, Grades 3-11 End-of-Year Assessment Innovative, computer-based items Required Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) Extended tasks Applications of concepts and skills Required Diagnostic Assessment Early indicator of student knowledge and skills to inform instruction, supports, and PD Non-summative 2 Optional Assessments/Flexible Administration Mid-Year Assessment Performance-based Emphasis on hard- to-measure standards Potentially summative Speaking And Listening Assessment Locally scored Non-summative, required 15

Non-Summative Assessment Components Summative assessment for accountability Non-Summative assessment Early Assessment Early indicator of student knowledge and skills to inform instruction, supports, and PD Flexible Mid-Year Assessment Performance-based Emphasis on hard to measure standards Potentially summative – 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 16

Summative Assessment Components End-of-Year Assessment Innovative, computer- based items Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) Extended tasks Applications of concepts and skills Summative assessment for accountability Non-Summative assessment 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 17

The PARCC Assessment System: Student Access and Technology

PARCC is committed to the following principles: Use Universal Design principles to create accessible assessments throughout every stage and component of the assessment Minimize/eliminate features of the assessment that are irrelevant to what is being measured, so that all students can more accurately demonstrate their knowledge and skills Measure the full range of complexity of the standards Use technology to make all components of the assessment as accessible as possible Conduct bias and sensitivity reviews of all PARCC items Promoting Student Access

Leveraging Technology TEIs present assessment items and capture student responses in a way that cannot be accomplished with paper and pencil Enable scalable and cost-efficient delivery and scoring of cognitively complex tasks e.g., simulation, multimedia constructed response Technology- Enhanced Items Single platform for accessing summative and non-summative assessments, diagnostic tools, practice tests, curricular and PD resources will be available throughout the school year. Common Technology Platform Adherence to recognized technology standards will allow for supports and accessibility information to be embedded in digital test items. Student Accessibility Profiles Online testing supports finer-grained data collection on student abilities and student interactions with assessments. Automated scoring enables more timely results that allow assessments to inform instruction. Scoring, Reporting, and Analysis

The PARCC Assessment System: Prototype Items

ELA Prototype Item: Grade 7 Research Simulation Task 22

High School Illustrative Sample Item 23 Seeing Structure in a Quadratic Equation

Aligns to the Standards and Reflects Good Practice

Timeline: Key PARCC Milestones Summer: Item prototypes released Fall: Technology Guidance for PARCC Assessments Version 2.0 released Fall: College and Career Ready Assessments identified Winter: School Readiness Planning Guide released Spring: Item tryouts Summer: PARCC Accommodations Manual released Spring: Field testing Winter/Spring: Summative PARCC Assessments Summer: Standard setting

The PARCC Assessment System: College and Career Readiness

Two College and Career Ready Determinations: – English language arts/literacy – Mathematics Students who receive a CCRD will have demonstrated the academic knowledge, skills, and practices necessary to enter directly into and succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing courses at public postsecondary institutions without the need for remediation. Students who achieve the CCRD will be guaranteed exemption from remedial course work in that content area. The PARCC Governing Board and ACCR approved the final policies during a special October 25, 2012 session. Policies are located at Background: College- and Career-Ready Determination (CCRD) Policy 27

Background: Policy-Level Performance Level Descriptors 28 PARCC states will use 5 achievement levels for grades 3-8 and HS in ELA/literacy and mathematics Each of the proposed performance levels includes: – Policy claims, which describe educational implications for students at a particular performance level. – General content claims, which describe academic knowledge and skills students across grade levels performing at a given performance level are able to demonstrate. Level 4 will be the threshold for earning the College and Career Ready Determinations on the designated high school assessments

The following statement was approved for use to inform standard-setting (determining cut scores for PARCC performance levels) and to conduct future studies to validate the efficacy of the CCR Determinations. – Students who earn a PARCC College- and Career-Ready Determination by performing at a Level 4 in Mathematics and enroll in College Algebra, Introductory Statistics, and technical courses requiring an equivalent level of mathematics have approximately a 0.75 probability of earning college credit by attaining at least a grade of C or its equivalent in those courses. – Students who earn a PARCC College- and Career-Ready Determination by performing at a Level 4 in ELA/literacy and enroll in College English Composition, Literature, and technical courses requiring college-level reading and writing have approximately a 0.75 probability of earning college credit by attaining at least a grade of C or its equivalent in those courses. Standard-Setting/Validation Studies of the CCRD 29

A College and Career Ready Determination on the PARCC assessments indicate: Mastery of the core competencies in the Common Core State Standards identified by postsecondary education faculty as prerequisites for and key to success in entry- level, credit-bearing courses in English and mathematics Readiness for placement into entry-level, credit-bearing courses in ELA and mathematics A College and Career Ready Determination will not: Determine admission to college or university Replace college/university tests to place students into higher level mathematics and English courses Address non-traditional students who delay enrollment CCRD: Placement NOT Admission 30

PARCC Assessment Priorities from the Postsecondary Perspective 31 1.Assess the full range of the Common Core Standards. 2.Guarantee students placement into entry-level, credit-bearing courses in ELA and Mathematics without remediation by developing a College and Career Ready Determination recognized by postsecondary institutions. 3.Provide clear signals to students about college and career readiness prior to high school graduation. 4.Incorporate these indicators into a system of tools and transition courses, aligned to the PARCC assessments, to support students in meeting postsecondary goals.

32 Ensure the CCRD is embraced by postsecondary faculty and administrators by continuing to validate the assessment through targeted research and evaluation.

PARCC research strategy is to collect evidence to inform, establish, and evaluate the success of methods, practices and processes to ensure that necessary conditions and outcomes are satisfied to ensure the assessment system is implemented with fidelity. To set college-ready performance standards on the high school assessments, PARCC will use evidence from research such as: — Concurrent validity studies Compare performance on PARCC with ACT/SAT/COMPASS/Accuplacer — Predictive validity studies Connect success of students on PARCC to performance in first-year courses — Judgment studies Rate importance of CCSS standards and test items in comparison with first-year course content — Alignment studies Examine relationship between first course content and content PARCC measures Research Strategy for Validation of CCRD 33

34 Local and state engagement in the development, acceptance, and adoption of the PARCC assessments

Development and Adoption of the PARCC Assessments 35 Requires creation of state mechanisms and infrastructures to facilitate postsecondary input into PARCC’s work and postsecondary adoption of the PARCC CCRD as an indicator of college readiness: —Governance Plan —State Specific Action Plan —Collaborative Platforms/Mechanisms of Communication

Development and Adoption of the PARCC Assessments Align first-year courses with CCSS – Analyze consistency in the definition of 1st-year, credit bearing courses in mathematics courses across colleges and states (range is from intermediate algebra to calculus) Establish consistent policies across postsecondary systems in your state about: – Placement – College readiness standards – College credit articulation – Align teacher preparation and alternative certification programs with content and pedagogy of the CCSS 36

Aligning Teacher Preparation Programs To strengthen alignment between pre-service and in-service training, higher education and K-12 can collaborate to create professional development around the standards by: —Involving higher education faculty members in the fields of arts and sciences, mathematics, and education in the development of professional development modules —Designing modules might include tasks, lesson plans, and standards mapping exercises —Coordinating development of these modules allows for the possibility of faculty at partner institutions of higher education to administer or teach the modules to their K-12 peers 37

Teacher educators should look to the Common Core State Standards to signal what their own students should know and be able to do to succeed as effective teachers Alignment between teacher preparation programs and professional development for in-service teachers is integral to create continuity of student and teacher expectations. Higher education institutions might consider encouraging faculty participation in professional development activities through a stipend, course release time, or other positive incentives and recognition. Professional Development for College of Education Faculty 38

39 Tools and transition courses

Develop Cross-Sector Interventions In collaboration with K-12 counterparts: —Determine the use of the PARCC assessment in identifying struggling students —Develop a system to support identified students during their senior year —Build unified State Longitudinal Data Systems and define common metrics to link K12 and postsecondary student performance Support students through cross-sector intervention: —Dual enrollment/Early College —Transition/bridge courses —Remediation reform 40

Southern Regional Education Board Transitional Course Project 41 SREB has collaborated with PARCC to welcome state teams: – To work with 14 participating states to develop 12 th grade transition courses based on the CCSS, – To field test model the model 12 th grade transition courses, – To ensure that state and local educators remain involved in the process of developing aligned interventions, and – To work with state policy-makers to develop policies that support the statewide implementation of these courses.

42 Importance to Postsecondary Education

43 Benefits of CCSS to Higher Education Better information about the preparation of incoming students -Better use of 12 th grade Improved preparation of incoming students – from all states -Increased academic rigor in entry-level, credit-bearing courses Reduced remediation rates -Increased funding may be redirected to support credit-bearing courses Increased degree attainment rates -Increased capacity – colleges can admit more students Better options for academic interventions to ensure students remain on- track to college readiness

Resources Available 44 “Connecting the Dots”, written by PARCC Higher Education Leadership Team members, and December 2012 CHANGE Magazine article “The Common Core State Standards: A Vital Tool for Higher Education”, written by Allison Jones of PARCC and Jaci King of SBAC, are available at

Resources To Come 45 Higher education-focused message card that describes key messages on the front… …and gives stakeholders more information about PARCC and the role of and benefits to higher education on the back.

46 Allison Jones Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers