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The PARCC Assessment

Career and College Readiness for the Next Generation

Arizona’s Common Core Standards (ACCS) in English language arts/literacy and mathematics call on students to apply their skills and knowledge in ways demanded by colleges, careers and citizenship in the 21st century. The next-generation assessment system envisioned by PARCC will have several benefits not found in current assessment systems including benefits to:

  • students, who will know if they are on track to graduate ready for college and careers;
  • teachers, who will receive regular results to guide learning and instruction;
  • parents, who will have clear and timely information about the progress of their children;
  • states, who will have valid results that are comparable across the member states, and;
  • the nation, since the assessments are based on the college- and career-ready, internationally-benchmarked CCSS.

The PARCC assessment have six priority purposes, which are driving the design of the system 

The priority purposes of PARCC Assessments are:

  1. Determine whether students are college- and career-ready or on track
  2. Assess the full range of the Common Core Standards, including standards that are difficult to measure
  3. Measure the full range of student performance, including the performance high- and low-performing students
  4. Provide data during the academic year to inform instruction, interventions and professional development
  5. Provide data for accountability, including measures of growth
  6. Incorporate innovative approaches throughout the assessment system
 
To address the priority purposes, PARCC will develop an assessment system comprised of four components. Each component will be computer-delivered and will use technology to incorporate innovations.
  • Two summative, required assessment components designed to:
    • Make “college- and career-readiness” and “on-track” determinations, 
    • Measure the full range of standards and full performance continuum, and
    • Provide data for accountability uses, including measures of growth.
  • Two non-summative, optional assessment components designed to:
    • Generate timely information for informing instruction, interventions, and professional development during the school year.
  • A third non-summative component in English language arts/literacy will assess students’ speaking and listening skills

PARCC will also use technology throughout the design and implementation of the assessment system. The overall assessment system design will include a mix of constructed response items, performance-based tasks, and computer-enhanced, computer-scored items. The PARCC assessments will be administered via computer, and a combination of automated scoring and human scoring will be employed.

Click here for more information about the vision of  PARCC: Career and College Readiness for the Next Generation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION