PARCC Information

As you may remember last year the DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) had some schools pilot the PARCC assessment. There were a few classes in Reading that were part of this pilot. This year the DESE was looking for schools to pilot the PARCC Diagnostic Field Test.  In early December I applied for students in grades 2-5 to take part. The DESE randomly selects schools and grades to take part, this is what happened last year with the PARCC pilot. This February students in grades 2, 3, 4 will have the opportunity to take part in the PARCC Diagnostic Field Test. Students in grade 2 will be assessed on ELA Decoding and Math Fluency. Grades 3 and 4 will be assessed in Math Fluency. This is an opportunity to ‘test the questions’. We are looking forward to students having the opportunity of taking the field test prior to PARCC. Below is some general information about the PARCC Diagnostic Field Test.

General Information

The PARCC Diagnostic Assessment is designed to provide data to help inform instruction with up to four unique administrations at any time during the school year. When operational, the Diagnostic Assessments will provide educators with the kind of snapshot and progress-monitoring data they are seeking to inform and adjust instruction in real time. Aligned to the Common Core State Standards and designed to maximize flexibility, the Diagnostic Assessments will provide easy-to-use and actionable reports.

Benefits of Participation in the Field Test

By participating in the voluntary field test, schools and districts will benefit in a variety of ways:

·         There will be a cost reduction if districts choose to purchase the Diagnostic Assessments (available in school year 2015–2016).

·         Teachers who participate will be considered for future opportunities related to PARCC tool development and item review.

·         The assessments will provide students with an opportunity to practice online test-taking skills within classroom instruction.

·         Schools will receive an early preview of the Diagnostic Assessments and associated tools.

Please note that no score reports or feedback will be provided, as the field test is designed to “test the test,” not the students.

   http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-begin-development-diagnostic-assessments

Last week the staff of Joshua Eaton, along with Kathy Santilli our Technology Integration Specialist,  took time to look at the PARCC assessment. We took the PARCC tutorial which is a walkthrough of the layout of the test. Teachers were able to see the tools that will available for students during the assessment. We also took a practice PARCC assessment. This allowed us to look at questions in the format that the students would be seeing. It was a great opportunity to ask questions and have open conversations about the assessment. Here is the link to the tutorial and practice test http://parcc.pearson.com/#

Here are some take aways from that training:

·         Students will be prompted if there are unanswered questions before submitting their tests

·         Students can go back to questions once they move forward on their screens.

·         Students will be using laptops at Joshua Eaton and not iPads.

·         There is no Long Composition section for 4^th grade. Students will be asked to respond to pieces of literature.

Just a reminder that the PARCC Parent Nights will be held on February 3^rd at Coolidge Middle School and on February 4^th at Parker Middle School, both sessions will begin at 7:00PM