The PARCC test has won an unusual nod of approval from the U.S. Department of Education: It got an unconditional thumbs-up as an assessment that complies with the federal rules governing how well tests measure mastery of states鈥� academic standards.
Sound obscure? Well, it is. But it鈥檚 also significant, because it means that one PARCC state (Yes, just one. More on that in a second.) has now won the official federal stamp of approval.
鈥淭his is really great news,鈥� said Arthur VanderVeen, the CEO of New Meridian, the company that manages the PARCC consortium. 鈥淲e think this confirms that the states that administer the PARCC test, or [use] its test content, are administering the highest quality assessment that鈥檚 available.鈥�
Here鈥檚 the obscure part, with explanations and caveats:
Those of you who follow every tiny detail of assessment policy鈥攈eaven help you鈥攚ill be embarrassingly familiar with the department鈥檚 鈥減eer review鈥� process. This is where the recent action about PARCC took place. In a in federal law.
in a number of areas, including whether the exam 鈥渕easures the full breadth and depth鈥� of its academic standards.
The Federal Review Process
The Education Department鈥檚 peer-review requirements focus heavily on how well a state鈥檚 assessment fully reflects its academic standards. All states must submit their assessments and standards for review periodically.
When they do that, it鈥檚 more common for them to receive ratings that fall short of complete approvals. They鈥檙e likely to get a 鈥渟ubstantially meets requirements,鈥� or 鈥減artially meets requirements.鈥� (See recent examples of the college-entrance exam for peer review.)
Typically in those situations, the department asks states to provide more evidence in places where the tests fell short. For instance, department officials could ask for alignment studies that demonstrate the test sufficiently covers a state鈥檚 standards. Or it could ask for evidence of appropriate accommodations policies.
It can take rounds of back and forth, over months鈥攁nd sometimes years鈥攆or states to submit sufficient evidence to win complete approval. And as insiders know, states just keep right on using those same tests with students while they鈥檙e seeking full approval from the department. Theoretically, the department can withhold Title I funds from states for using tests that don鈥檛 meet muster. But experts are hard-pressed to cite cases where that鈥檚 actually happened.
States that use the Smarter Balanced assessment have been going through peer review, and have gotten ratings of 鈥渟ubstantially鈥� meeting federal requirements, but none have yet received a 鈥渕eets requirements鈥� designation.
What鈥檚 Next for PARCC States
Maryland鈥檚 letter of approval is noteworthy because it confers on PARCC an official blessing for use in that state. It could also indicate a good chance that the five other states that use PARCC鈥擟olorado, the District of Columbia, Illinois, New Jersey, and New Mexico鈥攃ould get the same result when they go through peer review.
The most recent round of peer-review letters to those states, in January 2017, showed mixed results: Illinois鈥� use of PARCC got a 鈥減artially meets鈥� requirements, and the other four states got a 鈥渟ubstantially meets鈥� requirements.
As they submit more evidence, in search of a 鈥渕eets requirements鈥� designation, they鈥檙e not that likely to stumble on the question of whether PARCC aligns to their academic standards, since all PARCC states use the common core, or a close cousin of it, said Scott Marion, the executive director of the Center for Assessment, which advises states on testing issues.
The PARCC states could stumble, though, over other key questions of peer review, such as their accommodations and whether they test all students, as required by federal law, Marion said.
VanderVeen also noted that , in which they might incorporate some of PARCC鈥檚 content into their state testing regimens, as Louisiana and Massachusetts do, without using the whole exam. While that allows states to customize the test, it also means that full approval in peer review isn鈥檛 a lock, given each state鈥檚 unique use of the test.
The wonks and nerds among you can paw through the feds鈥� letters to PARCC states to see exactly where they fell short last year. You can see the . (Or not. Depending on your level of assessment wonkiness.)