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Deptford Township School District
PARCC Frequently Asked Questions
Compiled from District PARCC Parent Nights, 2015
Will IEP students be allowed extra time?
How will children with a 504 or IEP’s be accommodated?
My child has auditory processing disorder. How can she take the test
with headphones and spelling mistakes?
Students with IEP’s, 504 plans, and ESL students can be afforded extra time on the
PARCC. Extra time can only be given if it’s listed as a testing accommodation on
their Personalized Needs Profile, which was developed by a school-level team of
educators based on the needs of their IEP’s or 504 plans. All available
accommodations for students with IEP’s and 504’s, as well as ESL students, can be
found by visiting the link below. Accommodations for these students can be
provided if they are listed on their IEP’s or 504 plans.
http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/parcc-accessibility-featuresaccommodations-manual-11-14_final.pdf
Why is PARCC replacing NJASK and HSPA?
PARCC is the required state assessment, replacing the previous state assessments
of NJASK and HSPA, to measure student progress in Math and ELA. PARCC is an
assessment that measures student attainment towards meeting the Common
Core Standards. The previous assessments measured the NJ Standards in Math
and ELA, which are no longer in place. The NJ Standards were replaced by the
Common Core Standards. The Common Core Standards, as measured on the
PARCC, are measures of students’ critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, and
their ability to communicate clearly.
What happens if a student fails the test, do they stay back?
How will the district use these results for the placement in the LEEP
and XL Math programs?
Like the prior state assessments of NJASK and HSPA, a student is not retained or
held back a grade if they do not pass PARCC. Starting in 2017-2018, PARCC results
will be one of many factors considered when placing students in various courses
and programs in the district, such as basic skills and advanced courses. PARCC will
not be considered as a factor when placing children in any programs in 20152016, because results will not be received until the fall. In addition, it takes
approximately 2-3 years of PARCC test results to determine a true cut score which
fairly measures a student’s abilities and can therefore be used as a factor to
determine placements. At this time, the information released by the state
indicates that students who are currently in middle school and elementary school
will need to pass the PARCC to graduate high school after PARCC has been in
place for 3 years.
Is PARCC being given in private schools?
No. Private and parochial schools are not subject to the same laws, codes, and
statutes that public schools are required to follow regarding standardized testing.
They are not required to give standardized tests. Private schools are not
measured on student achievement by the state or federal government in the
manner in which public schools are. Private and parochial schools did not give the
NJASK and HSPA in the past, either.
What about students who transfer from another public school, or a
private school?
If a student transfers from another public school in NJ or a public school in any
other Common Core state that gives PARCC, their scores are still valid and their
results will transfer with them. They will not need to re-take the PARCC unless
they are a high school student who needs to pass one of the HS PARCC
assessments for graduation. A student who transfers from a private school into a
public school will not be required to take PARCC until the first PARCC assessment
is given during the first school year that they attend public school. For example, if
a 3rd grade student transfers from a private school to a public school in October,
the PARCC will be administered to them in March of that same 3rd grade year. If a
3rd grade student transfers from a private school into a public school in June of
their 3rd grade year, since the PARCC assessments have already been completed,
the first PARCC assessment they will take will be in March of their 4th grade year.
Are all states using PARCC?
No. Most states have adopted the Common Core Standards and therefore, must
administer a Common-Core aligned assessment to students. PARCC is one of the
choices that Common Core states could adopt to assess their students. Smarter
Balanced Assessment Consortium, also a computer-based Common Core test like
PARCC, was another approved assessment that Common Core States could
choose. NJ chose PARCC as the state assessment for Common Core.
Click here for a map of the states who have adopted the Common Core Standards
in Math and ELA. http://www.corestandards.org/standards-in-your-state/. Of
these Common Core States, click here to see which states have chosen PARCC as
their required Common Core assessment. http://www.parcconline.org/parccstates.
Why are scores being totaled as one?
PARCC is administered twice, but the test designs and content are different. The
March PARCC, called the Performance-Based Assessment (PBA), is administered
75 percent of the way through the academic year, and measures progress toward
the standards based on the expectations for that point of the year. Student
results on the PBAs will be combined with their results on end-of-year assessment
(EOY), administered in May, to produce an overall PARCC score in each content
area. PBA’s in math will focus on reasoning and modeling, and include questions
that require both short and extended responses. In ELA/literacy, the PBA’s will
focus on both reading comprehension and writing when analyzing texts. The endof-year assessments are administered after approximately 90 percent of the
school year, and measure summative progress over the year. The ELA/literacy
EOY will focus on reading comprehension. The mathematics EOY will ask students
to demonstrate solid understanding of math concepts and demonstrate
mathematical fluency.
Will students be required to have a log on ID?
Students are given a confidential username to PARCC on the morning the
assessment begins. This username is unique to them.
What is the possibility of a student’s test being accidently combined
with another student’s test?
Because all students receive a unique and secure username, that teachers will
ensure that no other students have access to; their tests are unique to them.
There is no chance they will be accidently merged with any other students’ tests.
Students test over a secure network.
Will a copy of the test be available for viewing or printed after
student has completed the test?
No, the test is not printed after the student has completed it. Like NJASK and
HSPA, schools and parents do not have access to copies of the students’ answers.
Parents, teachers, and students will receive score reports, like on NJASK and
HSPA, indicating what types of questions and specific standards their children
performed well on, or had difficulty with.
Does the test get saved if the desktop or Chromebook powers down
or just dies?
Yes. Students’ responses are saved in their online test every 5 minutes. The most
content they would lose might be 5 answers in the event of a technology concern.
Will they be getting a break during the sections?
Yes, students will be given frequent breaks during testing sessions to stretch, use
the restroom, have a small snack, and rest. The break times and durations are up
to the test administrator (the teacher administering PARCC to that group/class).
How many sections of ELA/Math are there going to be?
How long is each section going to be?
How many days of ELA/Math are there for each grade level?
Click on this link for a table showing all units and testing times for each grade level
and subject on PARCC:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/parcc/TestAdministrationTimesfor
PARCCAssessments.pdf
How do parents refuse this testing and what accommodations will be
made for those who don’t take the test?
Will the refusal test be “void” and what happens if they are “void”?
It is the parent’s prerogative to make decisions for their child. The state and federal
departments of education require all public school districts to administer the
PARCC assessment to students. Per the current testing regulations, the district is
required to void the tests of any students who refuse to test, listing “student
refused to test” as the void reason. Students who refuse to test will not receive
any negative consequences or disciplinary action. Students, teachers, and parents
will still receive a score report for that child, listing “void” as the score. If more than
5% of students in any district school, or any district subgroup, refuse to test, it could
affect the student participation rate in testing, which is reported and published on
the annual School Profiles and School Report Cards as not meeting the minimum
test participation rate. The district could be subject to monitoring and could be
subject to losing federal funds.
What is the purpose of this test?
PARCC is based on the core belief that assessment should work as a tool for
enhancing teaching and learning. Because the assessments are aligned with the
new, more rigorous Common Core State Standards (CCSS), they ensure that every
child is on a path to college and career readiness by measuring what students
should know at each grade level. They will also provide parents and teachers with
timely information to identify students who may be falling behind and need extra
help. http://www.parcconline.org/about-parcc
My child does not do well with typing and takes a very long time, how
will this be handled?
The unit times were developed by PARCC based upon how long students took on
the national PARCC pilot, which was administered last year in PARCC states.
There is additional time that students will be given to log on to computers and
enter their user account information. The district updated its technology
curriculum over the past 2 years to include instruction in keyboarding. Students
are practicing PARCC technology skills in their classes. All students are receiving
technology instruction as a “special” and in their regular classes, beginning in
Kindergarten, to assist them in developing typing and technical skills. If a student
has a disability or 504 plan with accommodations for typing, they will be provided
as allowable in PARCC testing per the Personalized Needs Profile.
How will students who use math manipulatives do this in a
computerized environment?
Math manipulatives and reference sheets are available to students within the
PARCC assessment tool bar from grades 3-7. For grade 8 and high school, rulers
and/or protractors are allowed, but are not provided in the toolbar of the test, so
they would be supplied for the students. For students who use specific math
manipulatives in daily classroom instruction as part of their IEP or 504 plans, they
can receive them on the PARCC assessment as well, per the Personalized Needs
Profile.
How does PARCC interface with skills needed for vocational
education?
The PARCC assesses Common Core Standards in Math and ELA at each grade
level. The goal of the Common Core Standards is to provide students with the
skills needed for either college or careers, which includes vocational education.
When will the results come out?
For this first year of PARCC, the information provided at this time indicates that
the results will be received by school districts in the fall of 2015. Time is needed
by the PARCC consortium to determine how to score them fairly during the first
year of administration. For this reason, PARCC results will not be used for any
type of student placements for the school years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017.
PARCC has indicated that once scoring is established and reliable, results will be
received more quickly after students submit their online assessments, so
teachers, students, parents, and school districts can learn about children’s
progress earlier.
Since PARCC is a computerized test, how will the essay be evaluated?
(Word by word? Is anyone reading it?)
The essays will be hand-scored by people with specialized training in the PARCC
scoring rubric for ELA. Information on PARCC ELA essay expectations and rubrics
can be found at this link: http://www.parcconline.org/samples/ELA.
How will 6th graders do PARCC testing for 7th grade pre- algebra?
Students are required to take the PARCC assessment for the grade level or Math
course they are currently enrolled in. Therefore, 6th grade students who are
educated in 7th grade Math will take the PARCC for 7th grade Math, since that’s
the Math content and standards they’re learning. Contact your child’s
elementary school to determine specifics on how 6th graders will take their 7th
grade PARCC. Principals and teachers at both the elementary schools and the
middle school are working together to schedule this testing with the least
interruption to classroom instruction.
Is there a test for each grade level or do the students take the testing
span as shown on the sample assessment (3-5 grade)?
Each grade level from grades 3-8 has their own PARCC assessment in ELA and
Math. At the high school level, there’s a PARCC assessment for 9th, 10th, and 11th
grade ELA. Math is based on the course the students are enrolled in, and tests
range from Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. Students who have already
completed these three courses as of the 2014-2015 school year, will not have a
PARCC assessment in Math. PARCC practice tests at each grade level can be
found at this link. Please note that the practice tests must be accessed through
the Google Chrome internet browser. http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/
Will all tests be taken on the computer or computer and ipad?
The PARCC tests will be administered on desktop computers in the
school libraries and computer labs, as well as within classrooms using
Google Chromebooks.
What happens if you have problems with the computers or network?
For over a year, the district has been planning for PARCC and has taken several
steps to prepare our devices and network to avoid any interruptions during
testing. If any unexpected technological problems occur, students will not lose
their work. The PARCC is set up with our network to save student work as they
complete each question. If unexpected interruptions occur, student work is saved
and they are permitted to use another working device and/or log back onto the
network when any interruptions are resolved.
How do we help our kids understand what they did not get right on
the exam?
Teachers, students, and parents will work together to understand what types of
standards the students did not demonstrate proficiency on when the results are
released.
How is the decision made on which students use Chromebooks with
smaller screens and those who use full size computer screens?
All district devices meet the minimum requirements released by PARCC regarding
screen size. Which students are testing using which devices depends on the
school schedule, which was developed by the building principal with input from
teachers and administrators.
What is the purpose of the microphones?
Districts were informed that the PARCC assessment in year 2 will include speaking
and listening sections. Therefore, when purchasing headphones, it was
recommended to purchase headsets with microphones because they would be
the best investment for future years of PARCC. Some students with IEP’s or 504
plans will also receive speech-to-text accommodations, which requires a
microphone.
What about non-district employees being in the testing environment?
Per the testing rules, all employees, whether employed directly by the district or
employed as a contracted provider, are permitted in the testing rooms to assist
with testing, as long as they attended one of the district’s PARCC security
trainings offered during the month of Feb.
Why would a test to see if a student is college and career ready be
given to children starting in 3rd grade?
Each grade level, from elementary to high school, has Common Core Standards in
Math and ELA. These standards measure student progress toward becoming
college and career ready in a developmentally different way at each grade level.
The 3rd grade PARCC will measure college and career standards as expected by
certain skills in 3rd grade.
What happens if the majority of the tests are scored low and
poorly? How will it affect the district?
At this time, PARCC has not established scoring levels to determine proficiency on
the PARCC. Districts were informed that these scores would be established by
this fall. If test scores are low, just like in previous NJASK and HSPA tests, the
school will be listed as not meeting its academic targets in the areas where
students scored poorly. This data is reported to the public on the School Profiles
and School Report Cards each year. The district could be subjected to additional
monitoring.
Why is this not part of their grades so they are held more
accountable?
Because of the uncertainty in how the PARCC will be scored, and the newness of
the test, it would not be fair to the students to assign a classroom grade to their
PARCC score.
How much classroom instruction is my child missing during the 30 day
PARCC testing window?
Approximately 5 hours of instructional time will be missed due to PARCC testing
in the 20-day window.
Do the PARCC test creators accept suggestions and problematic issues
from teachers?
Deptford participated in the PARCC pilot last school year. Students, teachers, and
administrators in school districts who participated in the pilot were given a series
of surveys to provide feedback on technology, the content of the test, the timing
of the test, and other topics. Educators were also given a platform to give
feedback on the PARCC content via an online survey until August 31, 2014.
Hopefully this survey will be opened again this year so educators can give
additional feedback after the first year of fully operational testing.
Who also sees the results?
PARCC results are released to the Superintendent and the District Test
Coordinator in each school district, who disseminate the confidential results,
which are password-protected, to principals for their school. Principals
disseminate the results to teachers and special services staff as applicable.
Individual student results are only viewed by educators who are directly involved
in making decisions for that child. PARCC results are also posted for educators
and parents in Genesis, which is also password-protected. Lastly, NJSMART,
which is the state’s student information system, uploads student PARCC data into
its program so that districts can run data reports about how groups of students
are progressing on assessments. NJSMART is also password-protected at both the
district and state level.
How will test results be implemented in the classroom?
Once the school district receives fair and accurate PARCC results, they will be
used by teachers to make instructional decisions such as planning lessons,
planning differentiated instruction, planning extra help sessions, and planning
centers/learning stations for their students. The results will be used much like the
NJASK and HSPA results were used. In addition to classroom application for the
teachers, once fair and accurate results are posted, the principals and district
administration will use the results as one of many measures to evaluate student
placement for district programs, such as basic skills, STEM, advanced courses,
LEEP, and child study team recommendations. The district will not be using
PARCC results for these purposes for at least the first 2 years of the assessment
because two years of data is needed to determine fair cutoff scores for
proficiency, as well as the district norm.
Will this test go against their grades?
No. The PARCC assessment will not affect or count toward students’ grades.
Will the test students continue MAP?
A team of administrators, teachers, and special services members are currently
evaluating assessment and data analysis programs, which function much like
MAP, but would reduce the instructional time lost during MAP testing. These
programs would give assessments online that are already included in our regular
curriculum, such as Reading Street tests and the Model Curriculum Assessments.
Nothing new will be added in these programs. If any of these programs are
adopted, they would replace MAP testing. A benchmarking system that measures
student progress toward the standards is required by the state and an integral
part of QSAC monitoring.
Do all students take the same test on the same day?
Will I know when my child is testing?
What part of the test are they getting to do first?
All students do not test on the same day, and do not necessarily start with the
same section. Contact your child’s school for specific dates that your child’s class
will be testing each section.
How did the district do last year in the school that took the pilot test?
Unfortunately, pilot districts were not supplied with results from the pilot tests.
The purpose of the pilot assessment was to practice the set-up, content, and
technology aspects of the assessment. Students and teachers adjusted very well
to the set-up of the pilot test, and we are proud of everyone who participated.
If they don’t finish the test on time- will they give him another time to
make it up?
Students must complete the test in the time given, unless they are IEP, 504, or ESL
students who are afforded extra time per prior documentation.
Will the computer clock show the how much time they have left on
the test?
Teachers are responsible for keeping time for students. Teachers will display
beginning and end times for testing parts in the classroom, and also state them
verbally. Teachers will also remind students verbally of how much time is
remaining. This time-keeping process is the same as it was on NJASK and HSPA; it
is monitored by the teacher and clearly communicated with the students.
If typing answers is so important to complete the questions in a
timely manner, why aren’t you teaching typing?
The district teaches keyboarding in its computer curriculum starting in elementary
school.
What programs will suffer because the tax dollars will be used for
PARCC?
No programs are suffering because of any funds used for the technology
purchased to administer PARCC.
Should my child do poorly on this test, how does it affect the teacher?
At this time, more guidance from the state is needed to determine how the
PARCC assessment will be used as a component of teacher evaluation, starting in
what year.
Why are there questions that look like there is no correct answer?
Some of the questions on PARCC have more than one correct answer. These
questions usually ask student to choose all answers that are correct, or all that
apply. If the question is calling for only one correct answer, the student must
choose the best answer to what the question is asking.
Are the kids able to skip questions and go back at the end if they have
enough time?
Yes. There is a skip and review feature within each unit of the test.
Are the students allowed scrap paper? How much?
For the math portion, may students use paper and pencil to solve
equations before they answer the open-ended question?
Yes. As much scrap paper as needed will be provided for students.
Will there be review sessions?
Yes, teachers are teaching Common Core Standards measured by the PARCC
assessment every day during regular instruction. Students are also learning
technology skills needed for PARCC during technology classes. Lastly, teachers
are implementing review and practice sessions weekly for 4-6 weeks before the
test.
Are the children encouraged to read the entire ELA passage or try to
answer questions without reading entire passage?
Students should read the entire paragraph or passage before deciding on a final
answer to choose. This strategy is to ensure they have all the information in the
reading before choosing the best answer. Students are encouraged to re-read
select parts of the passage that apply to the question.
Are the questions on the practice site the same level of difficulty as
the actual tests?
Yes.
What’s the expectation of the child? School? District?
The expectation of the child is that they do their best on the test. The
expectations of the school and district are that they provide the best possible
testing environment, curriculum, and classroom instruction to allow students to
be successful on the test.
When will the child be able to use the speaker to have the story read
to them and how often can they be read to?
This accommodation is based on the IEP or 504 plan.
What personal questions are the kids asked? Is there a survey they fill
out? Is it voluntary?
There was a survey that asked students questions regarding how difficult they
thought the test was on last year’s pilot exam. The district is not aware of any
surveys for students to complete on the fully operational assessment given this
year. All sections listed by the state are either Math or ELA content knowledge. If
a student is asked to take a survey on PARCC, it is completely voluntary and does
not count against their score.
As of now, until what grade will the students take the PARCC test?
To date, students will take PARCC assessments through the completion of Algebra
II and ELA 11 in high school.
Will colleges see the scores?
There has been discussion at the state level that once fair cut scores are
established after a few years of implementation, PARCC scores will be listed on
high school transcripts. High school transcripts are sent to colleges when
students apply. At this time, it is unclear if PARCC scores will definitely be listed
on high school transcripts after 3 years of establishing a cut score.
Do they have the same amount of time to write essays as answering
questions?
The majority of testing time, and the majority of weight on tested items in ELA, is
not on the essays. It is on the rest of the items.