PARCC Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

Monica Moore-Cook

PARCC, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, is a partnership of 23 states including the Virgin Islands, to work together to create a common set of assessments in English and Math. The PARCC K-12 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 are not meeting the standards, and provide targeted instruction, supports and interventions to help them succeed. The emphasis of this computer-based test will be on formative, or benchmark assessments to monitor students’ progress toward college/career readiness.  PARCC’s vision is to “build a pathway to college and career readiness for all students; create high-quality assessments that measure the full range of the Common  Core State Standards; support educators in the classroom, make better use of technology in assessments; and advance accountability at all levels.”

This initiative began with the launch and design phase in the 2010-2011 school.  Last school year, 2011-2012 began the development.  For the next two school years they will be conducting a pilot/field testing and related research and data collection.  Lastly, during the 2014-2015 school year the administration of the PARCC will be completely initiated.  The design of the assessment will consist of the following summative and non-summative assessments: diagnostic (early indicator of where the student is), mid-year (comprised of performance-based items and tasks), performance based assessment (administered near the end of the school year) and end of the year assessment (innovative, computer-based items).   

What does this assessment mean for students and educators?  Students who score proficient on the assessments will know they are on track for the next steps in their education. In high school, results will provide an early signal about whether students are ready for entry-level, non-remedial courses at higher education institutions in all 24 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 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. 

Assessing students’ knowledge to use as a bases of  improving instruction so that students are ultimately ready for college and careers is a positive initiative.  Even still there are many negatives.  The following is a table of a few pros and cons. 

Pros	Cons
Technical Advantages:  Educators, parents and students will be provided with data throughout the year to guide instruction, improve students learning and track progress through this computer-based test. Reduce paperwork, shipping/receiving & storage	Technical Challenges: Addressing the technology gaps for the implementation, administration and scoring of these next generation assessments.
Implementation Advantages: This will be a common assessment across the US that will coincide with the common core standards.  Promote rigor in all areas of Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy Increase college and career readiness	Implementation Challenges: Make sure districts are ready to transition to these new assessments by 2014-2015- budget More Assessment = funding and time
Policy Advantages: Help ensure the new common core standards reach every classroom through measures of growth	Policy Challenges: States/Districts will need to review their policies and make adjustments.

Although there are some real concerns about this new assessment, this partnership of states has committed to working together to overcome the challenges. They have strategically planned a collaborative effort to develop a set of high-quality instructional tools to help the education community transition to the next generation assessment system as well as tools to support the new assessment system.