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Tuesday, May 17, 2016

PARCC Assessment in MD: Alternatives to a Failing Test

Here is the "White Paper" that MCPS and MSDE don't want you to read:

The PARCC Assessment in Maryland, Alternatives to a Failing Test.
8/6/2015

From the Executive Summary:

Every state administers standardized tests to identify gaps in learning and to determine where
students are in their educational process. The recently implemented Partnership for Assessment
of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments, however, have provided more costs
than benefits in pursuit of this goal.
During its first year in Maryland schools, the PARCC exam has experienced several
difficulties which have countered the benefits of administering the assessment including
inefficient use of time, low construct validity, and technological problems. The test also fails to
provide incentives to teachers, students, and administrators, as there are no consequences for
poor performance. These problems reflect weaknesses in both the test itself and its
implementation. In addition, recent attrition among PARCC members makes
it difficult to identify the test as a national standard, despite that being the exam’s
original purpose.

To read more, CLICK HERE.

2 comments:

  1. There has been a post going around penned by an anonymous teacher a widely circulated (originally only by one education blogger but since PARCC has been getting Tweets pulled down over it, many more have joined in re-posting it on their blogs) description of some of the material and tasks asked of 4th-graders in the ELA PARCC test. VERY revealing: reading excerpts and tasks set FAR above grade level, virtually guaranteeing high rates of failure. One of he re-posts of the original is here: https://educationalchemy.com/2016/05/14/the-parcc-test-exposed-the-author-of-this-blog-posting-is-a-public-school-teacher-who-will-remain-anonymous-i-will-not-reveal-my-district-or-my-role-due-to-the-intense-legal-ramifications-for-exer/

    ReplyDelete
  2. While the students stress over the test and waste time taking it, Pearson(which administers it) is ready to grade 67% of their English essays by robots:https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/05/05/should-you-trust-a-computer-to-grade-your-childs-writing-on-common-core-tests/

    ReplyDelete

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