PARCC Adopts Common Core Policy on Testing for Students with Disabilities

The 17 state-governing board of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers(PARCC) met on June 26, 2013
1)  memo to the board that outlines the contents of the policy;
2)  a PowerPoint presentation on the manual; and
3)  a draft of the final policy.
"The Governing Board votes to approve the first edition of the PARCC Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual for the field test in 2013-2014. Based on item try-out, field testing and other research, this document will continue to be revisited in an iterative manner, consistent with best practice.

Colorado state leaders did not vote to approve the accommodations manual for Students receiving Special Education services.
Allowing time for editing and accompanying tools, PARCC plans to release an edited version in  July 25, 2013.



The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers is a consortium of  25 states working together to develop common K-12 assessments anchored in what it takes to be ready for college and careers.
Mission:  PARCC states have committed to building a K-12 assessment system that:

• Builds a pathway to college and career readiness for all students,
• Creates high-quality assessments that measure the full range of the Common Core State Standards,
• Supports educators in the classroom,
• Makes better use of technology in assessments, and
• Advances accountability at all levels.Learn more about which states comprise the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers and their agenda on education:   PARCC

For a brief summary and commentary on the PARCC accommodations manual, refer to Education Week's blog On Special Education by Christina Samuels on June 26, 2013 4:49 PM .

"Students with disabilities will be able to use read-aloud accommodations on the English/language arts portion of the common core tests, with no requirement that they be virtually unable to read printed text or be at the beginning stages of learning to decode,..."

Currently, only three PARCC states—Georgia, Maryland, and Massachusetts—allow read-aloud accommodation of text passages in state tests."

Janet Barresi, the superintendent of education in Oklahoma, also offered reservations about ASL interpretation.

The tests are set to be implemented by the 2014-15 school year, and leaders from the testing consortium said that it's important to get feedback from field testing. The manual can be changed if the field tests identify problems.

"The final manual also allows students with disabilities to use calculators on certain parts of the math test where students without disabilities would not be able to."