3-5 Language Arts and Reading Workgroup DAY 3 June 15, 2011 PARCC and Performance Tasks Preparing America’s Students for College and Career

2010 Grade 4 FCAT Writing—to Tell a Story (Narrative) The Grade 4 narrative prompt directed the student to write a story about a day some 4th grade students made lunch for the school. CCSS Performance Task for Stories & Poetry Grades 2-3 Students read Paul Fleischman’s poem “Fireflies,” determining the meaning of words and phrases in the poem, particularly focusing on identifying his use of non-literal language (e.g., “light is the ink we use”) and talking about how it suggests meaning. [RL.3.4] CCSS Performance Task for Stories & Poetry, Grades 4-5 Students read Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting and describe in depth the idyllic setting of the story, drawing on specific details in the text, from the color of the sky to the sounds of the pond, to describe the scene. [RL.4.3] 2

2011 Grade 4 FCAT Writing—to Explain (Expository) The Grade 4 narrative prompt directed the student to explain their favorite weather. CCSS Performance Task for Informational Text Grades 2-3 Students explain how the main idea that Lincoln had “many faces” in Russell Freedman’s Lincoln: A Photobiography is supported by key details in the text. [RI.3.2] CCSS Performance Task for Informational Text, Grades 4-5 Students explain how Melvin Berger uses reasons and evidence in his book Discovering Mars: The Amazing Story of the Red Planet to support particular points regarding the topology of the planet. [RI.4.8] 3

Goals Current Writing Expectation Compared to Common Core 2010 FCAT Writing Grade 8—Writing to Explain The Grade 8 expository prompt directed the student to explain the biggest change he or she has experienced from elementary to middle school CCSS Performance Task for Stories and Poetry Grades 6-8 Students compare and contrast Laurence Yep’s fictional portrayal of Chinese immigrants in turn-of-the-twentieth-century San Francisco in Dragonwings to historical accounts of the same period (using materials detailing the 1906 San Francisco earthquake) in order to glean a deeper understanding of how authors use or alter historical sources to create a sense of time and place as well as make fictional characters lifelike and real. [RL.7.9]

Goals Current Writing Expectation Compared to Common Core 2010 FCAT Writing Grade 8—Writing to Explain The Grade 8 expository prompt directed the student to explain the biggest change he or she has experienced from elementary to middle school. CCSS Performance Task for Language Arts Informational Text, Grades 6-8 Students determine the figurative and connotative meanings of words such as wayfaring, laconic, and taciturnity as well as of phrases such as hold his peace in John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America. They analyze how Steinbeck’s specific word choices and diction impact the meaning and tone of his writing and the characterization of the individuals and places he describes. [RI.7.4]

Goals Reading Balance of literature and informational texts Text complexity Writing Emphasis on argument and informative/explanatory writing Writing about sources Speaking and Listening Inclusion of formal and informal talk Language Stress on general academic and domain-specific vocabulary Key Advances in the Common Core ELA/Literacy Standards

Goals Standards for reading and writing in history/ social studies, science, and technical subjects Complement rather than replace content standards in those subjects Responsibility of teachers in those subjects Alignment with college and career readiness expectations Key Advances in the Common Core ELA/Literacy Standards

The New Common Core State Standards Assessment Systems Pascal (Pat) D. Forgione, Jr., Ph.D. and Nancy A. Doorey Center for K – 12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS

Thomas Friedman in “The World is Flat” points out the importance of “inflection points” in history. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) can become an “inflection point” for American public education - establishing a common foundation for building excellence and equity for all students. The Uniqueness of This Moment: Inflection Point RI IL FL CA CT PA State silos of cost, effort, expertise Interactive Digital Library Shared platform for collaboration, cost and effort efficiencies, sharing of best practices 8-Dec-15 CCSS

Race to the Top Assessment Program: Comprehensive Assessments 8-Dec-15 Groups of 15 or more states could apply for a grant to design, develop and pilot a next generation assessment system that: Builds upon shared standards in mathematics and English language arts (ELA) for college- and career-readiness; Measures individual growth as well as proficiency; Measures the extent to which each student is on track, at each grade level tested, toward college or career readiness by the time of high school completion and; Provides information that is useful in informing:  Teaching, learning, and program improvement;  Determinations of school effectiveness;  Determinations of principal and teacher effectiveness for use in evaluations and the provision of support to teachers and principals; and  Determinations of individual student college and career readiness, such as determinations made for high school exit decisions, college course placement to credit-bearing classes, or college entrance. (US Department of Education, 2009)

The Comprehensive Assessment System Proposals Two Comprehensive Assessment System Proposals Funded:  Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)  24 states and the District of Columbia, more than 31 million students in K-12  SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC)  31 states, over 20 million students in K-12 Ten states in both Consortia, five states in neither. 8-Dec-15

The Comprehensive Consortia 8-Dec-15

Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers: PARCC 8-Dec-15

Why Common, Next-Generation Assessments? 14 Are widely inconsistent across states, and impossible to compare Measure students’ mastery of Common Core State Standards, and mitigate challenges associated with student mobility by ensuring students will have the same expectations wherever they live CURRENT ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS… PARCC’S NEXT-GENERATION ASSESSMENT SYSTEM WILL… Include tests with disconnected purposes (e.g., instructional improvement vs. accountability vs. college admissions) Include “through-course” assessments in each grade in addition to end-of-year tests to produce a more complete picture of student performance Are not challenging enough to measure college and career readiness and therefore have no currency with higher education (or most students) Provide a common measure of college and career readiness, and will include a college-ready cut score to signal readiness for credit-bearing, college-level coursework that will be valued by postsecondary Fail to generate information for educators and students quickly enough or at all Leverage new technologies in assessment and reporting to get timely and actionable student data to educators and parents Do not measure the full range of college- and career-ready knowledge and skills (e.g., research, critical thinking, and collaboration) Include a range of item types that allow for the assessment of higher-order skills and measure the CCSS in full

THROUGH- COURSE ASSESSMENTS END OF YEAR COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT One to three tasks that assess a few “keystone” standards/topics Given at three points during the school year, near the end of quarters Results within 2 weeks to inform instruction and intervention Taken on computer (most students), with multiple item types Scored entirely by computer for fast results PARCC: Two Types of Summative Tests Scores from the through-course assessments and the end-of-year test will be combined for annual accountability scores. 8-Dec-15 In mathematics and in English language arts (ELA):

25% Through-course ASSESSMENT 1 ELA Math 50% Through-course ASSESSMENT 2 ELA Math PARCC: Through-Course Assessments 1 and 2 In a single session/class period, students in grades will: ELA: Read texts, draw evidence to form conclusions, and prepare a written analysis Math: For each of 1 or 2 essential topics (standards or clusters of standards), complete 1 to 3 constructed response tasks 8-Dec-15

Through-course ASSESSMENT4 Speaking Listening 75% Through-course ASSESSMENT 3 ELA Math PARCC: Through-Course Assessment 3 (and 4) Over several sessions/class periods, students will complete a project-like task that draws on a range of skills. Examples: ELA: Locate digital information, evaluate and select sources, and compose an essay or research paper Math: Perform a multi-step performance task that requires application of mathematical skills and reasoning and may require technological tools Speaking/Listening task: Conducted in classroom, not used for accountability, scored by teacher. 8-Dec-15

90% END OF YEAR COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT PARCC: End-of-Year Assessment Composed of 40 to 65 questions of a range of item types including innovative technology-enhanced items to sample the full year of standards Scored by computer Will make major investment in enhanced item types Will include items across a range of cognitive demand 8-Dec-15

PARTNERSHIP RESOURCE CENTER: Digital library of released items, formative assessments, model curriculum frameworks, curriculum resources, student and educator tutorials and practice tests, scoring training modules, and professional development materials PARCC: Resources, Tools, Supports Partnership Resource Center: Interactive Data Tool for accessing data and creating customized reports Exemplar lesson plans Formative assessment items and tasks Professional development materials regarding test administration, scoring, and use of data Online practice tests Item development portal Tools and resources developed by Partner states Optional “ready-to-use” performance tasks for K-2 8-Dec-15

Through-course ASSESSMENT4 Speaking Listening 25% Through-course ASSESSMENT 1 ELA Math 50% Through-course ASSESSMENT 2 ELA Math 90% END OF YEAR COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT 75% Through-course ASSESSMENT 3 ELA Math PARTNERSHIP RESOURCE CENTER: Digital library of released items, formative assessments, model curriculum frameworks, curriculum resources, student and educator tutorials and practice tests, scoring training modules, and professional development materials Summative assessment for accountability Required, but not used tor accountability The PARCC Assessment System 8-Dec-15 English Language Arts and Mathematics, Grades

PARCC Implementation Milestones Summer 2015 Design Phase: Development and approval by member states of common policies and procedures Development Phase begins: Initial item and task development, piloting of components Development of professional development resources and online platform Field testing New summative assessments in use Setting of common achievement standards 8-Dec-15

Will This Become an Inflection Point? Benefits: Fewer, clearer, next-generation standards Systems of high quality, aligned summative and formative assessments, with rapid results to teachers Online digital libraries for sharing of instructional resources, professional development modules, student support materials, identification of effective practices, etc. 8-Dec-15

PARCC benefits: Students who will know if they are on track to graduate ready for college and careers Teachers with regular results available to guide learning and instruction Parents with clear and timely information about the progress of their children States with valid results that are comparable across the member states The nation as it is based on college- and career-ready, internationally-benchmarked CCSS

Contact: Pascal (Pat) D. Forgione, Jr., Ph.D. Distinguished Presidential Scholar and Executive Director Center for K-12 Assessment and Performance Management at ETS Educational Testing Service 823 Congress Avenue, Suite 816 Austin, TX Nancy Doorey Director of Programs Coming Together to Raise Achievement: New Assessments for the Common Core State Standards Download this free 20-page guide at Visit for periodic updates on the development of these assessment systems