1,000 Teachers Examine PARCC: Perspectives on the Quality of New Assessments
Teach Plus brought together over 1,000 teachers in three states and the District of Columbia for an intensive day of professional development to evaluate sample questions provided by the PARCC assessment consortium. Teachers were able to learn more about PARCC questions, their alignment to CCSS, and the characteristics of high-quality assessments. The teachers then used this knowledge to review PARCC sample test items, discuss them with fellow teachers, and provide feedback about the quality of the test. This report presents the results of their feedback of these teachers. The report is organized around five key findings that emerged from the teachers’ feedback about the PARCC assessment items and concludes with suggestions on what teachers need moving forward.
This paper provides insight into teacher perceptions of PARCC sample test items, which were reviewed and discussed with fellow teachers knowledgable of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Feedback from the participating teachers is framed around questions relative to test item alignment, quality, instructional content, and rigor as these pertain to CCSS. It is important to recognize that this data comes from a select group of educators (paid a stipend for their participation and familiar with CCSS) whose perceptions are profiled in the reported findings. Information was presented in an easy-to-view and simple manner using multiple circle graphs to complement text providing an overview of teacher perceptions on a variety of specific questions. It is useful as one set of data, profiling the opinions of teachers who participated in a day of intensive professional development focused on PARCC questions, their alignment to CCSS, and the characteristics of high-quality assessments.