1. PARCC and the Common Core
in Massachusetts
Presentation to the
Massachusetts Board of Higher Education
Bob Bickerton, Senior Associate Commissioner,
Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Sue Lane, Senior Director for P-16 Alignment & Engagement,
Mass. Department of Higher Education
March 18, 2014

2. Overview
1. What is PARCC?
2. K–12 Context
3. Higher Ed Context
4. Previewing the New Assessment
5. 2013–2014 Field Test
6. MCAS-to-PARCC Transition Plan
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3. What is PARCC?
The Partnership for Assessment of
Readiness for College and Careers
18 states
+ Washington DC
+ US Virgin Islands
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4. What is PARCC? (cont.)
 Groundbreaking K–12/higher education partnership to
build new, direct pathway into credit-bearing college courses
 Ongoing collaboration with business community to ensure
assessment is measuring the 21st
century academic skills
required for success
 Development of common, high-quality, computer-based
English language arts and literacy (ELA) and
mathematics tests for grades 3–11 beginning with
the 2014–15 school year
 Two summative assessment components:
• Performance-Based Assessment (PBA)
• End-of-Year Assessment (EOY)
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5. Massachusetts is a
National PARCC Leader
 One of 18 PARCC Governing States
 Mitchell Chester, Commissioner of
Elementary and Secondary Education,
is chair of Governing Board
 Richard Freeland, Commissioner of
Higher Education, is co-chair of Advisory
Committee on College Readiness
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6. PARCC in Massachusetts
2010 Memorandum of Agreement signed by
Governor Patrick, Secretary Reville, and Commissioner Chester
 Commitment to adopt PARCC assessments “…provided
they are at least as comprehensive and rigorous as our
current MCAS assessments, if not more so.”
 MA Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will make
this determination in fall 2015
 MA Board of Higher Education will determine if PARCC
measures “College and Career Readiness”
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7. K–12 Context
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8. K–12 Context: Supporting
Student Readiness and Success
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9. What’s in it for Massachusetts?
Why would our state, with such high-achieving students and the
best assessments in the nation, change to PARCC?
1. Fulfills need for next-generation assessments aligned to
Common Core State Standards
2. Serves different purpose than MCAS:
a) MCAS gauges student proficiency within K-12
b) PARCC assesses whether students are on track for college and career
3. Provides both a formative and summative system of assessments
4. Provides quality and economies of scale: PARCC will cost less
per student to administer
5. Will enable students who achieve “college ready” level to place
directly into credit-bearing courses in MA public higher education
6. Will provide graduating students and businesses with clear signals
of career readiness
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10. Higher Ed Context
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11. Renewed Collaboration,
Shared Goals, Engaged Conversations
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12. Higher Ed Context:
The Vision Project
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 Overall goal of college and career readiness
 Greater College Participation for those
seeking college
 Also higher levels of College Completion
for those who enroll

13. Why is this work important for
Massachusetts higher education?
 Current marker for Competency Determination (CD)
is MCAS—10th
grade requirement
 One quarter of MA students do not enroll in college
within 16 months of graduating from high school
 37% of MA public high school graduates take at
least one developmental (remedial) course during
their first semester in MA public college or
university
• Number rises to 65% at MA community colleges

14. What is higher education’s role?
 Common Core State Standards
• Teacher Preparation
• Entry-level Course Alignment
 PARCC Assessments
• Readiness for Entry-level Credit Courses
• Placement Testing & Developmental Education
 Definition of College and Career Readiness
• P-16 Engagement/Shared Goals

15. Previewing the
New Assessment
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16. Key Focus Shifts
of the Common Core
ANCHORED IN COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS
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17. 17
PARCC Assessment Design
English Language Arts/Literacy and
Mathematics, Grades 3-11
End-of-Year
Assessment (EOY)
•Innovative, computer-
based items
•Required
Performance-Based
Assessment (PBA)
•Extended tasks
•Applications of
concepts and skills
•Required
Diagnostic 2-8 / K-1
Formative Assessments
•Early indicator of
student knowledge and
skills to inform
instruction, supports,
and PD
•Non-summative
2 Optional Assessments/Flexible Administration
Mid-Year Assessment
•Performance-based
•Emphasis on hard-to-
measure standards
•Potentially
summative
Diagnostic 2-8 / K-1
Formative Assessments
•Early indicator of
student knowledge and
skills to inform
instruction, supports,
and PD
•Non-summative
Mid-Year Assessment
•Performance-based
•Emphasis on hard-to-
measure standards
•Potentially
summative
Speaking & Listening (required non-summative assessment)

18. PARCC: Five Performance Levels
Level 1: Did not demonstrate partial command
Level 2: Partial Command
Level 3: Moderate Command
Level 4: Strong Command
Level 5: Distinguished Command
___________________________________________________________________________________
***Level 4 (Strong Command) is similar to NAEP’s Proficient
level (solid command of the content) and will serve as the
level for indicating students are “on the path” to being
college and career ready.
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19. Technology Questions
1. What technology can be used for administration?
Schools will be able to use desktops, laptops & tablets
(www.parcconline.org/field-test-technology)
2. How long will there be a paper/pencil option?
At least through 2015–2016, and likely beyond
3. What if we don’t have the technology or bandwidth?
• FCC is committed to expanded funding (“e-rate”)
• ESE working with state elected leaders to pass a
bond bill; House passed bond bill for $38M that
includes a matching requirement

20. 2013–2014 Field Test
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21. Why are we doing a field test
in spring 2014?
1. The test itself is being tested. No student, school or district
results will be reported.
2. Primary purposes of the PARCC Field Tests are to:
a) Determine the quality of items so that PARCC can build a
great assessment for the 2014–15 school year;
b) Pilot assessment administration procedures; and
c) Give schools and districts opportunity to experience
administration of PARCC assessments
3. MCAS Exemption: To avoid “double-testing,” Commissioner
Chester offered school districts option to exempt PARCC Field
Test students from taking MCAS in same subject in same year
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22. PARCC Field Test Sample
1. National Sample Size:
a) Over 1.2 million students are needed to participate in
the Field Test to evaluate the quality of items for
PARCC’s operational assessments in 2014–2015
2. Massachusetts Sample:
a) Approximately 350 districts
b) Over 1,100 schools
c) Roughly 82,000 students in grades 3–11
d) Nearly 700 schools will administer computer-based
tests, and close to 400 schools will administer paper and
pencil tests
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23. MCAS-to-PARCC
Transition Plan
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24. MCAS-to-PARCC Transition Plan
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November 19, 2013 Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted on
plan for two-year “test drive” of the PARCC Assessment
Spring 2014 PARCC field test administered in randomly selected
Massachusetts schools/classrooms
Winter/spring
2014–2015
MA schools administer first operational PARCC or MCAS
in Grades 3–8; MCAS continues for grade 10
Late fall 2015 Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
determines whether or not PARCC is better than MCAS,
and votes on whether or not to adopt PARCC

25. Graduation Requirement
 ELA and Mathematics:
• Grade 10 students through at least class of 2018
will take MCAS (for competency determination
required for high school graduation)
 Science:
• MCAS Science will remain a requirement for
competency determination
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26. 26
PARCC Timeline in MA
SYs 2011-12, 2012-13
Phase I Design &
Development
 Content
frameworks & test
specifications
SY 2012-13
Phase II
Development
• State-led item
reviews
• Item tryouts and
analysis
SY 2013-14
BESE Votes on
Transition Plan
Field Testing
 Spring
Administration
SY 2014-15
MCAS + Initial
administration
of PARCC
assessments
SY 2015-16
PARCC
[except
grade 10]
2015 Summer:
Set 5 CCR
performance
levels
Fall: BESE and
BHE vote on
adoption

27. • PARCC and the 2014 Field Test
http://www.parcconline.org/field-test
• Department of Elementary and Secondary Education PARCC webpage
http://www.doe.mass.edu/parrc
• Department of Higher Education PARCC webpage
http://www.mass.edu/parcc
• PARCC accessibility features and accommodations
parcconline.org/parcc-accessibility-features-and-accommodations-
manual
• Common Core State Standards Initiative
http://www.corestandards.org
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For More Information

28. • PARCC computer-based test items
http://parcconline.org/computer-based-samples
http://practice.parcc.testnav.com
• Model Curriculum Units (include Performance Assessments similar
to PARCC; great tool for preparing students for new assessment)
http://www.doe.mass.edu/candi/model/
• Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education
http://www.mbae.org/resources_news/legislations/
• National PTA Common Core Tool Kit
http://www.pta.org/advocacy/content2.cfm?
ItemNumber=3008&navItemNumber=557
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For More Information

29. Discussion
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