1. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
Overview and Updates
Dr. Laura Bednar
Assistant Commissioner for Learning Services
Arkansas Department of Education

2. Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)
TALKING POINTS
As a review, PARCC is an alliance of 24 states, educating nearly 25 million students, that are working together to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in English and math anchored in what it takes to be ready for college and careers. PARCC is led by 15 governing board states (and D.C.) represented in Dark Blue.
CLICK: The chair of the governing board is Mitchell Chester, Education Commissioner of Massachusetts, and the state of Florida is serving as its fiscal agent.
CLICK: Achieve is the project manager for PARCC, essentially serving as the staff for the consortium and coordinating the work. Collectively the PARCC states educate nearly 25 million students.
Governing States will pilot and field test the assessment system components over the next three years and administer the new assessment system during the school year. Governing States will use the results from the PARCC assessments in their state accountability systems
The chief state school officers of the Governing States serve on the PARCC Governing Board and make decisions on behalf of the Partnership on major policies and operational procedures
Participating States (light blue) provide staff to serve on PARCC’s design committees, working groups, and other task forces established by the Governing Board to conduct the work necessary to design and develop PARCC’s proposed assessment system. By 2014–15, any state that remains in PARCC must commit to statewide implementation and administration of the Partnership’s assessment system Any PARCC Participating State prepared to make the commitments and take on the responsibilities of a Governing State can become one
NOTES
Governing Board: Comprised of K-12 chiefs from Governing Board States
Technical Advisory Committee: Comprised of state/national assessment experts
Leadership Team: Comprised of delegates of K-12 chiefs from Governing Board States (e.g., Assoc. Supt for Curriculum, Assessment and/or Instruction)
ACCR: Comprised of national and state postsecondary leaders
Operational Working Groups: Comprised of national, state, and local experts and leaders in their specific areas of expertise
Governing Board States Participating States

3. Create high-quality assessments
The PARCC Goals
Create high-quality assessments
Build a pathway to college and career readiness for all students
Support educators in the classroom
Develop 21st century, technology-based assessments
Advance accountability at all levels
The PARCC goals are listed here. Essentially, PARCC aspires to create high-quality assessments that measure the full range of the CCSS AND the full range of student achievement, including the achievement of high and low performing students.

4. Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments
Priority Purposes of PARCC Assessments:
Determine whether students are college- and career-ready or on track
Assess the full range of the Common Core Standards, including standards that are difficult to measure
Measure the full range of student performance, including the performance of high and low performing students
Provide data during the academic year to inform instruction, interventions and professional development
Provide data for accountability, including measures of growth
Incorporate innovative approaches throughout the system

5. Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments
To address these priority purposes, PARCC will develop an assessment system comprised of four components. Each component will be computer-delivered and will leverage technology to incorporate innovations.
Two summative assessment components designed to
Make “college- and career-readiness” and “on-track” determinations
Measure the full range of standards and full performance continuum
Provide data for accountability uses, including measures of growth
Two formative assessment components designed to
Generate timely information for informing instruction, interventions, and professional development during the school year
In ELA/literacy, a third formative component will assess students’ speaking and listening skills
For those that have been following the development of PARCC, the Governing Board did make some refinements to the design based on the input from the PARCC states.
As with PARCC’s initial design, there will be four components to the PARCC system.
PARCC will develop all four components – the first two will be available for all PARCC states and districts to use and administer flexibly.
Summative assessment components will:
Measure the full range of the CCSS and the full range of student performance, including low- and high-performing students
Include achievement levels that signify whether students are “college- and career-ready” by the end of high school and on-track in earlier grades
Produce data that can be used to make a variety of accountability determinations, including measures of student growth
The formative components will be designed to generate timely information during the academic year that can inform instruction, professional development, and supports and interventions for students.
In ELA/literacy, there will be an additional formative component that will assess the speaking and listening standards in the Common Core.

6. Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments
Summative Assessment Components:
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
Formative Assessment Components:
Early 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
Overview of two summative assessment components:
Performance-Based Assessment:
Administered as close to the end of the year as possible
Will include essays and other high-quality, complex items.
End-of-Year:
Computer-scored, but would be far from the traditional “multiple choice” tests.
There will be multistep problems and tasks that students must complete in order to find the correct answer.
Overview of formative components:
Early Assessments:
Designed to be administered close to the beginning of the year.
Will provide an early snapshot of achievement knowledge and skills so that educators can tailor instruction, supports for students, and professional development to meet students’ needs.
Mid-Year Assessment:
Designed to be administered near the middle of the school year.
Performance-based
Will focus on hard-to-measure standards in the CCSS
Teachers could score this assessment to get quick feedback on student learning relative to the CCSS.
These components are:
are formative assessments
are developed by PARCC with its grant funds
are available to all PARCC states and their local districts
are intended to be administered early and midway through the school year
however, allow for flexible administration-- they can be administered at locally determined times, including at the discretion of the classroom teacher
can be scored quickly -- some can be computer administered and scored, others can be scored by the classroom teacher -- so that teachers can have timely information that can inform instruction for their students

7. Goal #1: Create High Quality Assessments
The PARCC assessments will allow us to make important claims about students’ knowledge and skills.
In English Language Arts/Literacy, whether students:
Can Read and Comprehend Complex Literary and Informational Text
Can Write Effectively When Analyzing Text
Have attained overall proficiency in ELA/literacy
In Mathematics, whether students:
Have mastered knowledge and skills in highlighted domains (e.g. domain of highest importance for a particular grade level – number/ fractions in grade 4; proportional reasoning and ratios in grade 6)
Have attained overall proficiency in mathematics
Based on the priority purposes for the assessments, the PARCC states are designing the assessments so that they enable us to make the following claims about students:
ELA/literacy:
Students can read and comprehend complex literary and informational text
Can write effectively to sources
Have attained overall proficiency in ELA/literacy – e.g. whether they are “college- and career-ready” in ELA/literacy by the end of high school or are on-track in earlier grades.
Mathematics:
Students have mastered the knowledge & skills in highlighted domains in mathematics – these are the domains of highest importance for a particular grade level. For example, in grade 4, whether students have mastered numbers and fractions. The highlighted domain varies from grade-level to grade-level, depending on the area of focus emphasized in the CCSS.
Have attained overall proficiency in mathematics – e.g. whether they are “college- and career-ready” in mathematics by the end of high school or are on-track in earlier grades.

8. Goal #1: Create High-Quality Assessments
Flexible
Performance-Based
Assessment (PBA)
Extended tasks
Applications of concepts and skills
End-of-Year
Assessment
Innovative, computer-based items
Early Assessment
Early indicator of student knowledge and skills to inform instruction, supports, and PD
Mid-Year Assessment
Performance-based
Emphasis on hard to measure standards
Potentially summative
TALKING POINTS
Graphic depiction of the assessment system.
The PARCC assessment system will:
Better reflect the sophisticated knowledge and skills found in the English and math Common Core State Standards
Include a mix of item types (e.g., short answer, richer multiple choice, longer open response, performance-based)
Make significant use of technology
Include testing at key points throughout the year to give teachers, parents and students better information about whether students are on track or need additional support in particular areas
ELA/Literacy
Speaking
Listening
Summative assessment for accountability
Formative assessment 8

9. Goal #2: Build a Pathway to College and Career Readiness for All Students
K-2 formative assessment being developed, aligned to the PARCC system
Timely student achievement data showing students, parents and educators whether ALL students are on-track to college and career readiness
College readiness score to identify who is ready for college-level coursework
Targeted interventions & supports:
12th-grade bridge courses
PD for educators
K-2
3-8
High School
SUCCESS IN FIRST-YEAR, CREDIT-BEARING, POSTSECONDARY COURSEWORK
The PARCC assessment system will be aligned to the college- and career-ready, Common Core State Standards, and is being designed to challenge students, help identify when they’re not meeting the standards, and provide targeted instruction, supports and interventions to help them succeed
Students who score proficient on the assessments will know they are on track for the next steps in their education, creating a more meaningful target
In high school, results will send an early signal about whether students are ready for entry- level, non-remedial courses at higher education institutions in all 25 PARCC states
Students who are identified as not being on track, or who do not meet the college readiness score, will receive targeted supports and interventions
Higher education partners in PARCC—more than 200 institutions and systems covering nearly 1,000 campuses across the country—have committed to help develop the high school assessments and set the college-ready cut score that will be used to place incoming freshman in credit-bearing college courses
ONGOING STUDENT SUPPORTS/INTERVENTIONS

10. Goal #3: Support Educators in the Classroom
INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULES
K-12 Educator
TIMELY STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA
TALKING POINTS
The PARCC assessments will be built with the K-12 educator in mind around four different areas.
(CLICK) INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION
Content frameworks
Sample assessment tasks
Model instructional units
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULES
Common Assessment : PD focused on the implementation the new assessments
Common Assessment : PD focused on how to interpret and use the assessment results
TIMELY STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA
Aligned performance-based assessments given throughout year
Data reports will be available, designed with teacher use in mind
EDUCATOR-LED TRAINING TO SUPPORT “PEER-TO-PEER” TRAINING
Training for cadres of K-12 educators around the instructional tools AND around training their peers to use the instructional tools
EDUCATOR-LED TRAINING TO SUPPORT “PEER-TO-PEER” TRAINING

11. Goal #4: Develop 21st Century, Technology-Based Assessments
PARCC’s assessment will be computer-based and leverage technology in a range of ways:
Item Development
Develop innovative tasks that engage students in the assessment process
Administration
Reduce paperwork, increase security, reduce shipping/receiving & storage
Increase access to and provision of accommodations for SWDs and ELLs
Scoring
Make scoring more efficient by combining human and automated approaches
Reporting
Produce timely reports of students performance throughout the year to inform instruction, interventions, and professional development

12. Goal #5: Advance Accountability at All Levels
PARCC assessments will be purposefully designed to generate valid, reliable and timely data, including measures of growth, for various accountability uses including:
School and district effectiveness
Educator effectiveness
Student placement into college, credit-bearing courses
Comparisons with other state and international benchmarks
PARCC assessments will be designed for other accountability uses as states deem appropriate

13. Implementation and Instructional Support & Next Steps

14. PARCC’s Implementation Support & Stakeholder Engagement
To support state efforts to implement and transition to the Common Core and next generation assessments, PARCC will facilitate:
Strategic planning and collective problem solving for the implementation of CCSS and PARCC assessments
Collaborative efforts to develop the highest priority instructional and support tools
Multi-state support to build leadership cadres of educators
Multi-state support to engage the postsecondary community around the design and use of the assessments
Strategic planning and collective problem solving
PARCC will convene two multi-state transition and implementation strategic planning institutes per year where state leadership teams composed of state and district leaders will:
Receive support to develop and execute strategic transition and implementation plans,
Focus on common policy decisions, challenges, and milestones, and
Monitor progress against their strategic plans
In between the convenings, there will be regularly-held webinars on specific high-priority topics to help all states continue to make progress towards implementation
Collaborative efforts to develop the highest priority instructional tools: PARCC is developing a robust set of high-quality instructional tools to help the education community transition to the next generation assessment system.
Content Frameworks will help identify priority big ideas in the standards that can help determine the focus for the various assessment components. While one intended audience is district-level curriculum supervisors and state content experts, the frameworks will also be easily accessible to teachers
Model instructional units aligned to the CCSS and PARCC content frameworks, and anchored around a PARCC assessment component
Sample assessment tasks that will mirror the tasks that will be included on the PARCC assessments
Professional development modules to help teachers, counselors, school leaders and school site testing coordinators understand the PARCC system
College-ready tools, such as model 12th-grade bridge courses for students who don’t score college ready on the high school assessments.
PARCC also has a few tools planned to support the new assessment system including:
Text Complexity Diagnostic Tool: a computer-adaptive tool to identify students’ reading level and supply suggestions for appropriate texts for students to read to stretch their reading and put them on a growth path.
K-2 Assessments in ELA/Literacy and Mathematics, which are optional for states to administer
Partnership Resource Center, which will house the model content frameworks’ sample assessment tasks; released items with item data, student work, and rubrics
Multi-state support to build leadership cadres of educators who are deeply engaged in the use of those tools, the CCSS and the PARCC assessments.
Multi-state support to engage the postsecondary community around the design and use of the assessments

15. PARCC Timeline Development beginsSY
Development begins SY
First year pilot/field testing and related research and data collection SY
Second year pilot/field testing and related research and data collection SY
Full administration of PARCC assessments SY
Launch and design phase
Summer 2015
Set achievement levels, including college-ready performance levels

16. Key Challenges for PARCC
Technical Challenges
Developing an interoperable technology platform
Transitioning to a computer-based assessment system
Developing and implementing automated scoring systems and processes
Identifying effective, innovative item types
Implementation Challenges
Estimating costs over time, including long- term budgetary planning
Transitioning to the new assessments at the classroom level
Ensuring long-term sustainability
Policy Challenges
Student supports and interventions
Accountability
High school course requirements
College admissions/ placement
Perceptions about what these assessments can do
TALKING POINTS
Obviously this is a huge change for our consortium states and there certainly will be challenges. We really see these in three areas.
Technical Challenges: Addressing the technology gaps for the implementation, administration and scoring of these next generation assessments.
Implementation Challenges: We must make sure our states and districts are ready to transition to these new assessments by and that they can sustain. Obviously, the biggest concern of all states right now is the budget. That won’t change in the next few years.
Policy Challenges: These assessments will require some, if not all PARCC states to review their policies and make adjustments. Through outreach and support we must make sure there are no “surprises.”
We will collaborate and innovate to overcome these challenges. While these are real challenge, they can be overcome.

17. PARCC Highlights: The Work is Underway
Governing Board meetings where major decisions have been made around assessment design, procurement schedule, committee structure and by-laws
Consortium-wide and in-state meetings, including first Transition & Implementation Institute, attended by 200 state and district leaders from 22 states
Release of final by-laws, draft content frameworks and launch of PARCC website (
Direct engagement with over 1,000 educators, K-12 and postsecondary leaders and state and local officials
Three Governing Board meetings held through summer 2011 with up to 15 state superintendents in attendance where major decisions have been made around the PARCC assessment design, procurement schedule and standing and ad-hoc committees
Launch of the first in the series of Transition & Implementation Institutes, attended by about 300 state and district leaders from across 22 states.
Release of final and draft materials, including the PARCC By-Laws, draft content frameworks, and
Launch of PARCC website ( and Vimeo channel with PARCC- and CCSS-specific videos (
A range of multi-state and in-state meetings with state and local K-12 and postsecondary leaders around assessment design and transitioning to the new standards and assessments
In total, PARCC has engaged directly with over 1,000 state, local, K-12 and postsecondary education leaders through one or more of the activities described above.

18. PARCC Model Content Frameworks
Model content frameworks are being developed for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics that align to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
These Content Frameworks serve several purposes:
Help identify the big ideas in the CCSS for each grade level,
Help determine the focus for the various PARCC assessment components, and
Support the development of the assessment blueprints
The model content frameworks are designed to be used by state- and district-level curriculum and instructional leaders, as well as teachers.

19. PARCC Model Content Frameworks
The model content frameworks are being developed through a collaborative process between state content experts and the CCSS writers, making this very much a state-driven effort.
Arkansas has actively participated in the development, review, and revision of these content frameworks. State level content leaders as well as a committee of Arkansas curriculum leaders from across the state have been working to ensure that the content frameworks are useful to educators across our state.
Additionally, the model content frameworks have undergone several rounds of review and revision from other PARCC states, key content organizations, and other stakeholder groups.

20. PARCC Model Content Frameworks
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The model content frameworks are voluntary and are not intended to be curricula or scopes and sequences. Rather, their primary intended use is to support states and districts as they engage in their own curricular development efforts by providing more detail about the CCSS standards and their connection to the PARCC assessment system.

21. Public Review— PARCC Model Content Frameworks
The public review period for the model content frameworks is August 3-17, with full release expected in September 2011.
This is an opportunity for an even wider group of interested parties to provide feedback on all parts of the content frameworks, including the introductions and grade-level analyses, which include suggested areas of emphasis and priority.
During the public review period, PARCC hopes that teachers and district and school curriculum leaders, in particular, will provide feedback on the model curriculum frameworks.
PARCC will continue to work with key content organizations (NCTM, NCSM, NCTE, AFT, NEA, etc.) as well as higher education institution faculty and other education experts to ensure that all relevant stakeholders have the opportunity to provide feedback.

22. Minimum Technology Specifications Development
PARCC is working to develop minimum technology specifications that will aid states and districts as they prepare to implement the computer-based PARCC assessment system.
The specifications are designed to guide PARCC states and districts as they plan instructional hardware purchases, with the assumption that devices to be used for student learning will likely also be used for student assessment.
These detailed specifications are planned to be released by the end of 2011.
PARCC is currently developing a set of Technology Specifications to aid states and districts as they prepare to implement the computer-based PARCC assessment system. The PARCC Technology Specifications are designed to guide PARCC states and districts as they plan instructional hardware purchases, with the assumption that devices to be used for student learning will likely also be used for student assessment.  In a U.S. Department of Education meeting, educational technology experts advised the assessment consortia to rely on proven technology, instead of attempting to predict what technology might exist in 2014 when the assessments are implemented.  For that reason, development of the PARCC Technology Specifications will be informed by minimum specifications required by states currently using online assessment, and by a nationwide technology report issued by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) in June These detailed specifications are planned to be released by the end of 2011.

23. Minimum Technology Specifications Development
The PARCC Technology Specifications will consist of two sets of hardware specifications:
The minimum specifications will be designed to help schools evaluate their existing hardware.
The recommended specifications will be meant to provide a "floor" as schools and districts make decisions regarding new instructional hardware purchases. Most new devices on the market will exceed PARCC’s recommended specifications.
The specifications purposefully will not address any software, browser, network, or bandwidth requirements, as those will be determined and released as the specifics of the test design, item types, and response modes are finalized.
The PARCC Technology Specifications will be:
Meant to be used as guidelines for PARCC states and districts to plan instructional technology hardware purchases in the near future that will meet assessment requirements, and to evaluate existing hardware;
Informed by minimum specifications of states currently using online assessments and by a State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) nationwide technology report released in June 2011; and
Formed with an understanding that the higher the technology demands, the fewer schools will be prepared.
The PARCC Technology Specifications will not be:
A recommendation of what specific devices schools and districts should purchase; or
Recommendations about software, browser, network, or bandwidth requirements.

24. PARCC State Contacts for Arkansas:
Dr. Gayle Potter, Director
Dr. Christopher Barnes, Deputy Director
Arkansas Department of Education
Office of Student Assessment
(501)