May+PARCC+Bytes

**May 8, 2014 **
We completed the PBA on April 11th and began EOY on May 5th. What are we learning from the Field Tests?
 * Students report that the test questions are about things they have learned in class, but the questions are harder. There is a LOT of writing (both ELA and Math).
 * o This was not just in Harlem! Many of our local experiences were similar to others nationally: []
 * It’s helpful to provide students with opportunities to use an online calculator.
 * Taking practice tests have been REALLY helpful. [|http://practice.parcc.testnav.com/#]
 * Students view or listen to media as part of the ELA assessment. It would be helpful for students to learn to view/listen to media and practice note taking during viewing/listening. They are asked to reference the media in the Research Simulation Task.
 * The current directions that are read to students by test administrators are very long; students aren’t listening to them!
 * Some questions allow students to select more than 1 correct answer; that has been difficult for some students to understand. It’s helpful to provide these types of questions during instruction for them to practice.
 * Sessions are fatiguing for students. They need some kind of physical activity after sitting through long testing sessions.
 * Do you use Twitter? This hashtag will provide you with live commentary about the experiences districts are having with the field test. []

**May 15 **
We completed the PBA on April 11th and began EOY on May 5th. What are we learning from the Field Tests?


 * The ELA assessments require students to read large chunks of text on a screen/monitor, and scroll up and down to find answers/evidence, etc. It would be very helpful for students to spend time reading text on screen, and practice scrolling through text to find evidence for their answers or other writing.
 * The Gutenberg site is a nice resource for finding electronic texts for students: []
 * This site lists the Top 100 sites for Educators. The first section lists content resources, including online text sites for students. Project Gutenberg is the first and largest single collection of free electronic books, or eBooks. []
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">Other sites for free e-books:
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">[]
 * o <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">Free

<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">May 22, 2014
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">We completed the PBA on April 11th and began EOY on May 5th. We will end EOY on May 23rd. What are we learning from the Field Tests? <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">Teachers have told us that the Practice Tests have been very beneficial, not just for the students, but for teachers themselves! It gives them a clearer picture of the content students are expected to know for their Math and ELA assessments, and to have a better understanding of the technology skills students will need. <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">How do you access the practice tests?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">[]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">Use Google Chrome!!! Internet Explorer will ask you for a password, but there isn’t one. Crazy, right?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">The blue navigation bar at the top of the page has links to Resources, Sample Items, a Tutorial, and the Practice Tests (both ELA and Math).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">There are practice tests for each grade 3-11, including answer keys and rubrics for the ELA assessments.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">The sample items are chunked (3-5, 6-8, High School)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">There are several tutorials: (Equation editor, Graphing Calculator and Text To Speech)

<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">May 29
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">So What Do They **//Look//** Like? <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">Below is an article from the CEO of PARCC, Inc. //<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Laura Slover is the CEO of PARCC, Inc., the nonprofit managing the assessment project for the PARCC states // <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">This week I attended the Education Writers Association annual summit in Nashville and made a short presentation about how the PARCC test items are different than the typical test items of the past. For a while now, reporters have been explaining to their readers that the Common Core assessments go beyond multiple choice and require critical thinking, writing and the use of evidence. But what do the test items actually //look// like? <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">So with exactly seven minutes to present (seriously – they had music cued up to play over me if I went on too long), I narrowed myself to a dive into the test items. The message I tried to convey: there is no “test prep” for these tests; these are the kinds of test items that require understanding of concepts and application that only come through a year of effective teaching, not through “drill and kill.” <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I’ll give you <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none;">two quick examples <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">, the ones I used in my presentation: In a typical current 10th grade test, students might be asked to write a letter to the cafeteria supervisor suggesting new menu items explaining why they should be added. While this does require writing and making a persuasive argument, it doesn’t require them to use evidence from the text. A sample 10th grade PARCC test item requires the student to read passages of the Declaration of Independence and a Patrick Henry speech and watch a short video. Then students must write about the purpose of government, according to the colonists, based on the texts and the video. Those are the skills that will be expected of them when they enter college or the work place. <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In math, an old question might ask students to figure out what portion of stickers are heart-shaped, requiring students to divide the number of hearts by the total number of stickers. In PARCC’s sample test, a question about fractions requires students to first place a fraction in the right place on a number line, explain how they know 3/2 is greater than 5/6, come up with their own fraction that is between the two, and explain how they know it is between the two. The student who can answer those questions really knows fractions and will be able to put them to use solving real-world problems. <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In seven short minutes, I was able to paint a picture for reporters, several of whom told me the effort worked – they had gone from understanding in //concept// what the new tests do to seeing it for themselves. <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">There was an important lesson for me, too. We in the PARCC consortium can do a better job of explaining with more “show” and less “tell.” Shorter presentations, narrower focus, more visuals. We’re working on it, and I encourage your suggestions and feedback.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">By Laura Slover **