PARCC v. MCAS

Massachusetts school committees are still deciding whether they will continue to take the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systems exam (MCAS) next year, or if they will go ahead with the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers exam (PARCC). Of the districts that have decided, so far 57 percent have selected PARCC and 41 percent have selected MCAS, according to Jacqueline Reis, spokeswoman for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

If you’re unfamiliar with the PARCC exam and/or wondering how it differs from MCAS, there are a few key components you should know. PARCC is a computer-based and technologically-driven student testing program. PARCC is designed to target performance-based learning and make college-and-career-readiness determinations in both English Language Arts and Mathematics.

PARCC is divided up into two sections: summative assessments and non-summative assessments. Summative assessments are performance-based and administered after the school year is three-quarters completed. It is a computer-scored end-of-year assessment for English Language Arts and Mathematics students in grades 3-11 designed to make college-and career-readiness (CCR) and on-track-to-achieve-CCR determinations; measure the full range of academic standards and student performance; and provide data for accountability uses, including calculations of growth.

There are three non-summative assessments components constructed to generate data for informing instruction, interventions, and professional development during the school year. These include a required evaluation of students’ speaking and listening skills, an optional diagnostic assessment, and an optional mid-year performance-based assessment.

PARCC and the current version of the MCAS exam have a few key differences:

• PARCC will test students in grades 3-11. MCAS tests students in grades 3-8 and 10.
• PARCC is a computer-based test, though a paper-and-pencil version will be available at the outset. MCAS is only a paper-and-pencil test.
• It is important to note that as a computer-based test, there is a chance that PARCC will widen the achievement gap between students whose districts have access to technology and those whose districts don’t.
• PARCC will assess writing at all grade levels. MCAS assesses writing in grades 4, 7, and 10.
• MCAS reports four levels of student performance (Advanced, Proficient, Needs Improvement, Warning/Failing). PARCC will report five levels of students performance, including a level that coincides with college and career readiness.
• MCAS is a custom test that only Massachusetts students take. Other states will take PARCC, which will allow comparison of student performance in Massachusetts to student performance in other states.

Currently, school district officials are in the middle of a two-year field test of the PARCC. Data collected during the two years will be used by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to decide which exam to give to students in grades three through eight. Eventually, if enough districts get on board, PARCC could very likely replace the MCAS.

Sample test items and tasks for ELA and mathematics, along with supplemental materials and additional resources, are available online at http://www.parcconline.org/samples/item-task-prototypes.

Sources:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/parcc/CommTool/IntroFAQ.pdf
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/state_education_commissioner_s.html
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/07/more_state_school_districts_se.html