NEW: PARCC Tests to Be Shorter in RI, All States Next Year

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NEW: PARCC Tests to Be Shorter in RI, All States Next Year

The Rhode Island Department of Education announced Thursday that the Governing Board of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) voted Wednesday to use only one testing window and to reduce total testing time by 90 minutes in the coming school year (2015-16).  

“The redesign of the PARCC assessment will meet our goal of streamlining assessments in Rhode Island at all levels – state, district, and school,” said Deborah A. Gist, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education. “I am confident that, with a narrower testing window and with a shortened testing time, the PARCC assessments will allow more time for classroom instruction while still providing valuable information to families and educators about student progress and achievement.”

About the Test

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This year, schools in all PARCC states administered the assessments during two testing periods: the performance-based assessment, which began in mid-March, and the end-of-year assessment, which began two weeks ago. About 5 million students in 11 states and the District of Columbia completed the PARCC assessments in English language arts and mathematics this year – including about 75,000 students in Rhode Island.

The Governing Board approved these changes as a result of feedback from all PARCC states during the first year of testing and after a careful review of the test design. As a result of the Governing Board vote, next year the PARCC consortium will:

·       consolidate the two testing windows that stretched from March to June into one testing period of approximately 30 days;

·       reduce the number of test units from 8 or 9, depending on grade level, to 6 or 7 test units;

·       reduce the testing time for students by 90 minutes overall (30 minutes in English language arts, 60 minutes in mathematics); and

·       simplify administration of the assessments while giving schools flexibility in setting their testing schedules within the testing period.


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