Fall Preview for Higher Education Leaders Sue Lane, Senior Advisor to the Commissioner for P-16 Access and Alignment, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education Joslyn Overby, Assistant Director of Assessment, New Mexico Public Education Department Callie Riley, Parcc Inc.’s Associate Director for State Engagement October 8, 2015 Presented by:

Determine whether students are college- and career-ready or “on track” Provide tools to assess student learning and support instruction during the school year Report growth in performance as well as absolute achievement Report comparable results across schools, districts and member states Generate valid and reliable information to inform instruction and accountability decisions What are the primary objectives of the PARCC Assessment System? Use technology for a range of purposes including increasing student access, providing accommodations, engaging students, and creating efficiencies in administration, scoring and reporting 2

What is higher education’s role? Common Core State Standards Teacher Preparation Entry-level Course Alignment PARCC Assessments Readiness for Entry-level Credit Courses Placement Testing & Developmental Education Definition of College and Career Readiness P-16 Engagement/Shared Goals

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 disciplines 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 ANCHORED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS Defining College and Career Readiness

Why is this important for higher education? By the year 2020, 65% of jobs nationally will require a career certificate or college degree K-12 academic preparation does not align with postsecondary expectations 51.7% of students who enroll in 2-year institutions must take remedial courses 67.7% of African American students who enroll in 2-year institution must take remedial courses 64.7% of low income students who enroll in 2-year institutions must take remedial courses Of students who enroll in remedial courses at 2-year institutions, 9.5% graduate within 3 years

Send a clear message of college readiness knowledge, skills and practice Enable a focus on “readiness gaps” to address in high school Provide a pathway into entry level credit courses in English and Math for high school graduates Furnish greater data to aid college placement tools and practices College readiness standards and PARCC don’t replace the need for remediation, but together they:

Test Administration in million students in one day 204,000 students in one hour Peak: 1m testers per day x 5 days Thousands of hours contributed by thousands of educators to develop the test Key Stats

Test Design Changes - 90 Minute Reduction Overall times include Reading/Writing and Mathematics across all test units per grade

Test Design Changes – One Testing Window

Test Design Changes – Fewer Test Units With the changes, students in all grades will participate in fewer test units. The redesigned ELA/L tests are composed of 3 units. The math tests are composed of 3 or 4 units.

11 The Road to the First Score Report Spring 2015 Administration of PARCC assessments July/August Performance level setting for high school and grades 3-8 August/September State K-12 and higher ed chiefs review/vote on recommended cut scores Fall assessment results available through score reports The Road to the First Score Report

Five Performance Levels Place a purple frame around images PARCC uses five performance levels that delineate the knowledge, skills, and practices students are able to demonstrate: Level 1: Did Not Yet Meet Expectations Level 2: Partially Met Expectations Level 3: Approached Expectations Level 4: Met Expectations Level 5: Exceeded Expectations Five Performance Levels

13 Performance Level Setting: What is it? This summer, educators and experts determined what score each student must earn on the assessment in order to achieve a particular performance level. States nominated a variety of stakeholders to participate in 12 in-person panels to review the assessments. Recommendations go to PARCC Governing Board for approval K-12 educatorsPostsecondary faculty Grade-Span Panels Performance Level Setting: What is it?

O CTOBER MILESTONES STATE RELEASES D ECEMBER Score Release Timeline Some states: high Level preliminary results S EPTEMBER N OVEMBER States, vendor quality control reviews, prepare score results States release state-level score results, approximately Districts receive HS score reports Districts receive 3-8 score reports 14

The Score Report 15

16 Score Reports

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Individual Student Report: ELA/L 18

Individual Student Report: Math 19 Individual Student Report: Math

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21 Score Reports

What Parents Need to Know About the Score Reports The PARCC tests replace the old state tests. They measure how well students are performing against the new state standards that guide math and English language arts instruction. The PARCC tests are only one of several measures, including report card grades and in-class performance, that are used to determine a student's academic achievement. They do not impact a student’s GPA. The score reports are a valuable tool for parents and teachers. The report provides a deeper level of information that can be used to better understand where students are doing well and where they need additional support. This helps teachers and parents support students. 22

What Parents Need to Know About the Score Reports The PARCC tests moves away from multiple choice questions to ones that allow students to demonstrate a real understanding of what they know and can do by writing essays, solving real world problems, and reading and analyzing complex text—all critical skills in the real-world. Your child’s score may look lower this year because the tests measured more complex skills. A low score does not mean your child did not improve or learned less, but instead that the expectations have been raised for students. The first year’s scores are a new baseline from which to progress from and measure against moving forward. 23

Available Instructional Tools from PARCC

Resources for Educators 25

GreatKids State Test Guide For Parents 26

Skill Builder 27

Questions?