It seems like we have always had some sort of state test to
take. The tests have had a lot of
different names -MSA, HSA, CTBS, ITBS. Not to mention the high school pre-college
ones like PSAT, SAT, AP, ACT or ASVAB for military careers. It’s good to have some measure of student
progress based upon standards that are challenging and achievable.
Next week we start the PARCC –
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career. There are 12 states plus Washington, D.C.
involved in the partnership that developed this test. The PARCC website says, “These states came together through a shared commitment to develop
a new way of testing – far more rigorous than in the past, far more engaging
for students and far better suited to measuring student understanding,
reasoning and ability to apply concepts.
By
working together, the PARCC states can collectively design a more high-quality
assessment that builds a pathway to college and career readiness by the end of
high school, mark students’ progress toward this goal from third grade up, and
provide teachers with timely information to inform instruction and provide
student support.”
There are
20 other states in a similar partnership.
Their test is called Smarter Balanced.
Schedules
for getting students tested will be a big part of the school environment for
the next month or so. Grades 3-11 will
take part – some more than others. Your
average 4th grader will spend up to 150 minutes testing in Math and
225 minutes testing in English Language Arts/Literacy in what is called the
Performance Based Assessment. Then there
will be another 150 minutes for the EOY (End of Year). Most tests will be taken via computer. A few at middle and high school will be
paper/pencil.
It’s all
new and practice tests show that it is very challenging. No doubt there is some anxiety for staff and
students. How will we do? We shall see.
Any time
there is a new test, there is an expectation that our students won’t be as
successful as in the past. We also have
an expectation that Calvert will do better than most. But, we must be patient with ourselves and
recognize that this first administration of the PARCC will be a learning
experience for all. Our teachers have
been working hard for a few years to design instruction and assessments that
represent these new challenging standards.
It will generate some base-line
data that, given Calvert County Public Schools’ history, we will learn from and
build upon to show improvement the next time.
There is
no book on how to do well on the PARCC. It
is just that new. Maybe we’ll write it.
We shall
see.
To learn
more and even take a practice test go to:
Schools should maintain and keep their Classroom, veranda and cafeteria with more clean and clear.
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