We received the press release below from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), one of two multistate assessment consortia developing tests to replace those used for compliance with No Child Left Behind and to align with the Common Core State Standards in math and language arts. This round of sample items was promised in October, but being a week late doesn’t hurt. We will analyze these items and report our findings in about a week.
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers released new sample test items. With this release, PARCC has now made public exemplar test items across the grades in both mathematics and English language arts/literacy.
These sample items are designed to help teachers, students, and parents get a better sense of how PARCC will measure student learning in mathematics and ELA/literacy. The new assessments are aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
“As a teacher, I am extremely impressed with the sample items released by PARCC. These rich questions and authentic student tasks get to the heart of the standards and will give us more insight into student reasoning and understanding than current standardized tests,” said Amy Spies, a Florida PARCC Educator Leader Cadre (ELC) member and middle school teacher.
The sample items have gone through a rigorous review process to ensure they are of high quality and reflect the range of items that will be on the operational tests.
“As a former teacher—and a parent—I know these items are exactly the kinds of experiences students should have,” said PARCC Chief Executive Officer Laura Slover. “They will get to do real writing and solve meaningful problems, not just fill in bubbles.”
“I use the sample items as a tool to see what I can learn about the standards, next-generation assessments and Common Core alignment. I take each one as a moment to improve instruction and professional development around the instructional shifts we are making,” said Darren Burris, a Massachusetts ELC member and high school mathematics teacher.
PARCC will make all of its sample items available later this year on the PARCC technology platform, providing an opportunity for students and teachers to try out the assessment system in the manner in which it will be administered.
