This year Illinois is rolling out its new Common Core assessments. These new assessments will be aligned with PARCC Common Core standards. These new standards will help prepare children to enter college and the job market upon graduating. However, many parents and educators have numerous questions about the assessments. This article will try to clear up some common questions about the PARCC testing introduced this year. It will also give teachers and parents some valuable information and resources that can help make the transition to the new test easier.
Assessment types: What are they, and their use?
In preparation for PARCC testing, some reasonably new terms are being used regularly by people in the education community. In addition, there are some critical assessments that the teachers and parents should also know the meaning of when evaluating.
1. Formative assessment: This test is given by teachers in the classroom throughout the year. It is provided as a diagnostic test to gauge the readiness of their students for specific areas with the content area. In addition, these tests can help teachers identify needs that need to be addressed before the end of the year assessment.
2. Interim assessment: This assessment is used in intervals to judge how well a student is improving. An example of this would be a teacher giving a test on Multiplying at the beginning of the school year. She would then give the same test to the students a month later. Then, she can compare both trials to see what improvements have been made in that area.
3. Summative assessment: This would be the end of the year assessment given by the state. Its goal would be to evaluate the student’s progress against the pre-determined standards for their subject and grade level. This is another name for the PARCC test. Eventually, teachers and administrators will be held accountable for the results of this testing as part of their yearly review.
Key Benefits of PARCC Testing:
1. Faster result reporting:
There are many key benefits to the new PARCC testing. Eventually, the results will be declared faster, and it will be easily accessible to both schools and parents. This will allow both to keep better track of their student’s or children’s progress towards the new standards that have been established. In this way, School districts can better address students’ problem areas faster and help improve the students’ knowledge.2. Computer-based test:
Computer-based testing is something that will become more common in the future. It will eventually replace paper, and pencil-based assessments entirely, at least for state-wide testing. There are some key advantages to Computer-based testing. The main advantage is that a computer-based test can have multiple-type questions that engage the children to think higher. It allows for a more effective testing product at multiple levels. The PARCC tests will eventually be all computer-based, but at this time, not all school districts have the capacity to administer them as computer-based.What to Expect from PARCC Testing?
With anything new, there are always questions about what to expect? However, there are some things that parents and teachers can expect to happen with these new assessments.
Lower score than in the past:
This is an expected outcome of implementing something new. The new PARCC assessment is so different than the previous assessment given by the state. A drop in scores is expected in the short term. This is because both teachers and students are getting used to this more rigorous testing and standards. There will be a short period of adjustment to this new testing. But, it is expected, and there is nothing to be alarmed about.
There are resources out there to help both teachers and students get comfortable with these new assessments quicker. We will look at a few of these:
PARCC Website:
There is Illinois-specific information for you to get better equipped for the PARCC testing on this website. It will give you information on the assessments, dates for examinations, and helpful links to help you become informed about PARCC and the upcoming testing.
Lumos Learning:
This website will give you affordable ways to get your child prepared for both the paper and pencil assessments and the online assessments. Their product is a must-have to help your child prepare for the PARCC assessment. Their online and physical workbooks are fully aligned with Illinois PARCC standards and developed by expert teachers. In addition, they have great blogs and PARCC related information that will be useful for you. Lumos Learning is an excellent resource for both schools and parents.
Illinois Board of Education website:
This website is full of helpful information and links to other great sites to help you understand the new PARCC assessments. It also has some excellent links to help both teachers and students.
For More resources
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