Personally, I know our students at Skinner North are ready for PARCC. We have been implementing Common Core aligned instruction for the last 5 years. I am confident that our students will be successful and hopeful that we will be able to make good use of the resulting data.
Students in grades 3-5 will be assessed pencil/paper and those in grades 6+ on computers.
We will test on the following days:
PARCC Math
Tuesday, March 10 starting at 9:15
Wednesday, March 11 starting at 9:15
PARCC ELA
Tuesday, March 24 starting at 9:15
Thursday, March 26 starting at 9:15
Friday, March 27 starting at 9:15
FAQs
(1)- I have heard a lot about PARCC being a difficult assessment. Is my student ready for PARCC?
Teachers at Skinner North have been planning instruction aligned to The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for 5 years. The PARCC assessment is aligned to the CCSS and thus students have had a lot of exposure to this curriculum. Many of the questions on PARCC will have students showing evidence of thinking, explaining their thinking, reading the text closely, etc. These are all things students do on a daily basis in their classrooms. You can go to http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/ to see some sample problems.
(2)- Do students take the assessment for their grade level or the grade level above?
Similar to ISAT testing, students will take the PARCC assessment that is for their grade level i.e. 3rd graders take the 3rd grade test. This is true even as a Classical School where students do curriculum that is a year advanced.
(4)- How much time will the test take?
Each test should be about 75 minutes, though our kids have always finished ISAT quicker than the allotted time in years prior.
(5)- Will NWEA or PARCC be used for application to Selective Enrollment Schools (i.e. academic centers or selective enrollment schools)?
For next year the district will still use NWEA percentiles for Selective Enrollment purposes. Students' spring percentiles are the numbers used.
(6)- Where can I get more information?
http://www.parcconline.org/for-parents
(7) Are all students expected to take PARCC?
CPS expects all kids to take the PARCC. At our school, this equates to students in grades 3-7. The district has yet to release any opt out guidance. If you feel you would like to do this, please schedule a meeting with school administration.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
-Ethan & Katie