Preparing for PARCC
Gaining a Greater Understanding
of
PARCC’s Type I Math Items
This post is part of our blog series on PARCC. In this series, we offer tips and strategies you can use to ensure that your students perform at their very best on the PARCC tests.
When I was a classroom teacher, I often asked myself, “What can I do to provide my students with an authentic summative assessment-like experience that will enhance their learning and not interrupt the instruction?” For me, the answer was to understand the design of released summative assessment items and to incorporate similar items in the classroom.
PARCC has shown itself to be transparent. They’ve disclosed the summative assessment structure and focus, evidence statements, and released items from the 2014-2015 PBA and EOY assessments, and provided testing tutorials, practice tests, and other support materials. According to the PARCC Claims Structure (Grades 3-8, HS), more than 50% of the total points on the 2015-2016 summative assessment in math are from Type I items (Sub-Claims A and B). Making sure your students understand Type I items is essential to their success.
What Are PARCC Type I Items?
Type I Tasks assess concepts, skills, and procedures:
- Balance of conceptual understanding, fluency, and application
- Can involve any or all mathematical practice standards
- Machine-scored, including innovative, computer-based formats
- Sub-claims A and B, including fluencies
What Do Type I Items Look Like?
Before PARCC, most state summative assessments included mainly multiple choice and short-constructed response items that were used to measure concepts, skills, and procedures. The level of rigor was limited. In some previous assessments, the lack of quality distractors and/or the effective implementation of simple testing strategies could allow students to score well, but the scores were not a true reflection of the students’ understanding of the concepts. With the new styles of PARCC summative assessment items and the design of high quality distractors, the level of rigor is increased. Students need a deep level of understanding of the math concepts, and they need to apply reasoning and other critical thinking skills. There are two categories of PARCC items:
Constructed Response: The student constructs the answer. This could be a single number, an expression, equation or inequality, and/or a completed mathematical model.
Here’s an example of a PARCC machine-scored Type I item in which the student constructs the answer:
Selected Response: A selection of possible responses are provided; the student selects the correct response(s). There are at least seven different styles of these technology-enhanced items. Some of these styles include: Drag and Drop, Multiple Select, Multiple Choice, Drop-Down Menus, Sort by Category, Reorder the selections.
Here’s an example of a PARCC machine-scored Type I in which the student selects the answer:
The best way to see the PARCC Type I items is to access the website: http://parcc.pearson.com/
In the menu, select Test Preparation. You will find tutorials and practice tests. I highly recommend engaging in the Student On-line Tutorial for your grade band. Descriptions of the styles of items and sample items are provided. Also, I highly recommend taking the on-line EOY practice test for the grade/course you teach. As you engage with the practice items, ask yourself, “What features within the items will be challenging for my students?”
Consider these features:
- Imbedded Vocabulary
- Details in Directions
- Each item has its own specific directions that describe how to record the answer. Students should highlight directions. Refer to: How to Respond to PARCC Math Items “Direction Detective” blog.
- Technology Skills
- Notice the technology skills needed to provide the response.
- Design of Distractors
- When identifying distractors, consider how a student may solve the problem incorrectly. This incorrect response is usually one of the distractors. Notice that the distractors are not obvious; this increases the rigor.
Consider the features in this PARCC sample item:
What content is measured by the PARCC Type I Items?
PARCC has disclosed the Evidence Statements used by the assessment designers.
“Evidence Statements describe the knowledge and skills that an assessment item or a task elicits from students. These are aligned directly to the Common Core State Standards, and highlight their advances especially around the coherent nature of the standards.”
Evidence Statements include information on "Clarifications, Limits and Emphasis," related "Mathematical Practices" and "Calculator Designations."
When examining the document, notice the first column on the left side of the table. It identifies the PARCC Sub-Claim. Type I items are Sub-Claims A and B.
A great way to connect the Evidence Statements to the practice test items is to:
- Print the answer key to the practice test. It provides the Evidence Statement Key aligned to the items.
- Find the matching key in the Evidence Statement Table.
- Review the assessment item.
This comparison will allow you to gain insights on how a standard is being measured on the summative assessment.
Standards Solution and Inspired Instruction offer 540 PARCC lesson plans, online PARCC-like assessments with technology-enhanced items, PARCC workshops, and PARCC demonstration lessons. Please contact Judy Cataldi for more information.
Judy.cataldi@standardssolution.com or call 908-223-7202.
Standards Solution Holding, LLC is not owned by or affiliated in any fashion with PARCC, Inc.
