A follow up memo from the June 26, 2014, summarizing items discussed and providing answers to frequently asked questions from the meeting. Learn more about PARCC and see other materials from Next Generation Assessment Stakeholder Meetings.
Non-Summative Assessments
Standards
Implementation/Administration
- Can science and health assessments be split over different grades?
- Timing window: straddling spring break? Can end of EOY window be pushed back further? Concerns about length of window/amount of time on test cutting into instructional time.
- If OSSE needs to add test integrity requirements on top of what PARCC is requiring, will schools need to know ASAP to align interims with summative expectations?
Scoring & Reporting
- How will writing scores appear?
- What will be the PBA/EOY weight in the summative score? When will we know?
- Request for more information about scoring and timing, more transparency into process.
Accommodations & Special Populations
- May ESY-eligible students be given PARCC on a different timeline?
- Student learner profiles: can there be one upload as opposed to manually entering at individual level? Could state pull this from SEDS on LEA behalf?
- Accommodations guidance is needed ASAP
- What is the quality of PARCC’s text to speech?
- NCSC: if a student took the DC CAS Alt this year in 10th grade, will they need to take NCSC when they are in 11th grade next year?
- For NCSC, what about students who are on different DC-approved tracks that may not align with NCSC’s alternate achievement standards?
Technology
- $4mil DC tech fund
- Will tech troubleshooting while maintaining testing integrity protocols guidance be available?
Non-Summative Assessments
OSSE will research specifics and provide to LEAs ASAP. In the meantime, online resources are available:
- PARCC Mid-Year Assessments
- PARCC Non-Summative Assessments
- New Assessments for the Common Core State Standards
Standards
1. Which of the standards are which next generation assessments aligned to?
- PARCC assesses ELA and math and is aligned to the Common Core State Standards
- DC Science will assess science and will be aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards
- DC Health will assess health content and will be aligned to the DC Health Standards
- NCSC will assess ELA and math for DC students with severe cognitive disabilities and will be aligned to the alternative achievement standards
Implementation/Administration
1. Can science and health assessments be split over different grades?
Schools are anxious about the current draft proposal of test window policy prohibiting “straddling” spring break due to logistical and test integrity purposes. Given the level of anxiety, OSSE will pull together test window working group with heavy LEA/school participation to inform next draft of proposal that meets both school and state needs.
OSSE is offering flexibility in terms of selection of start dates; however there are absolute consortium-level start and end dates for the PBA and EOY, outside of which no students in the consortium will be able to test.
Also, while the test windows for computer-based will be longer (20 days), this does not mean that students will be, or should be testing for all 20 of those days. The actual PARCC time on test is approximately 9 hours (some variance depending on grade level), which is only a slight increase from DC CAS. Within the windows, LEAs/schools will have scheduling flexibility for their students; students will not need to test more than one session in one sitting, but may take more than one session in a sitting/day; this is an LEA/school level decision. When science and health will be scheduled is a decision that has not yet been made; and anyone interested in this conversation is welcome to join an NGA workgroup tasked with this work.
Absolutely; Assessment team is prioritizing this work, and has identified where PARCC policy deviates from OSSE/DC policy and law, and is working with both PARCC, internally, and in the Test Integrity Act regulation writing process to finalize policy and guidance.
Scoring & Reporting
1. How will writing scores appear?
Writing will appear as a sub-score of the ELA assessment for PARCC. Writing is incorporated into all grades given the PARCC assessment, so there will be a writing sub-score for each tested grade.
2. What will be the PBA/EOY weight in the summative score? When will we know?
PBA and EOY items and responses will be combined in the scoring process for one overall summative score report. How much each component will “weigh” in terms of the overall summative will be determined during the Standard Setting process, to take place in summer 2015. OSSE will ensure that the level of data schools and educators receive now will remain the same, if not enhanced.
3. Request for more information about scoring and timing, more transparency into process
Standard setting, which will determine proficiency levels, will be conducted in Summer 2015, for data release in Fall 2015. Once scaled and leveled data is passed to states, OSSE will ensure that LEAs have the opportunity to review and appeal data prior to making classification determinations or making the data public on learndc.org.
Accommodations & Special Populations
1. May ESY-eligible students be given PARCC on a different timeline?
While there is some flexibility in scheduling, there are absolute start and end dates for the PBA and EOY windows that are set by the consortium, before and after which no students will be able to test. Assessment will continue to work with PARCC and OSSE’s DSE to see what kind of flexibility can be afforded to ESY students.
Assessment team will work with DSE and PARCC to pursue options that remove burden from LEAs.
3. Accommodations guidance is needed ASAP.
Assessment team is working on this and will increase priority and efforts here.
4. What is the quality of PARCC’s text to speech?
PARCC Text to Speech Tutorial is available to try out technology. As always, a student’s IEP team determines the accommodations that are best suited to the individual learner, and the option for a human reader will still be available to students who need it.
OSSE will research and create a proposal. Certainly we understand not wanting to create an extra burden for students and schools.
OSSE will research and follow up.
Technology
The $4 million DC Council approved last year for technology readiness has now been made an annual allocation, and LEAs will be entitled to the portion of the $4 million that their total enrollment from the previous year represents. This will be available to LEAs annually in the fall.
2. Will tech troubleshooting while maintaining testing integrity protocols guidance be available?
Absolutely; Assessment team is working as a very active member on the PARCC operational working group to ensure that PARCC test integrity requirements and guidance, and OSSE guidance are clear about how to maintain security while addressing technical issues.
