State schools Superintendent Tony Smith is bracing school districts for what could be the most dismal statewide test scores in years, indicating that students did worse last spring on the new PARCC exams compared with prior state tests.
In a letter to school administrators obtained by the Tribune, Smith described the first PARCC results as “simply a new baseline from which we can move forward. I do not want anyone to use these results to shame teachers or schools.
“We need to celebrate the good work our teachers and schools are doing to teach the new content our children must have for success in the future,” he wrote.
The Illinois State Board of Education is scheduled on Wednesday to release what Smith called “initial, and still incomplete” results on the math and English language arts/literacy tests called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.
In the spring, the exams were given for the first time in Illinois to third- through eighth-graders and some high school students. The tests are based on Common Core standards for what students should know, and they focus on critical thinking and problem-solving.
PARCC replaced the ISAT tests for grade school students and the Prairie State Achievement Examination for 11th-graders. In 2013 and 2014, more than 40 percent of students statewide in those grades flunked the old exams, testing data show, in part because the state made it tougher to pass the ISATs.
Based on Smith’s letter to school districts, it’s likely that even more students will flunk state exams.
“While the numbers are not final, we know that the percent of students who demonstrate proficiency are likely lower than the percentage of students who were proficient on the previous test,” Smith wrote. “Please let everyone in your communities know that we fully expect results to improve as teachers and students become more familiar with the higher standards.”
PARCC became controversial last spring because of the length of the exams and concerns that too much testing is going on at schools. Hundreds if not thousands of families allowed their children to opt out of the state exams. Thus far, the Illinois State Board of Education has refused to provide figures on the number of students who opted out.
In his letter, Smith asked administrators to “please help parents understand that the PARCC test is not an ‘additional’ test but that it replaces an existing test with one that is better aligned to the new standards. As you know, Illinois is deeply committed to minimizing testing and reducing test prep that consumes precious learning time.”
This school year, PARCC tests will be condensed and take less time, changes that may appease parents who allowed their children to opt out.
At a prior Illinois State Board of Education meeting, Smith expressed frustration about delays in getting PARCC test results, and he stressed in his letter Friday that he wanted to get as much information out as soon as possible.
“It is our collective challenge to explain to principals, teachers, parents, and community members what these scores mean for their schools, their classrooms, and their children,” he wrote.
“Ideally individual student results would be available at the start of the school year so that teachers, parents, and students could use them to inform instruction. This year, we expect individual student results later in the fall. In subsequent years we expect to have them much sooner. Either way, please help parents understand the primary purpose of this assessment is to help their children.”
Smith also stressed that test results “are only one of many factors that inform our accountability system. We will never use test scores in isolation to drive school interventions or personnel decisions. We all understand that no test can ever fully capture the inspiring skills and abilities of a great teacher or the extraordinary benefits and positive impact of a great school. Tests are simply one measure to help track our progress.”
Test results are coming out across the country in states that have been part of testing groups focusing on Common Core standards.
At least 10 states administered PARCC tests last spring, while more than a dozen administered the Smarter Balanced exams. On the Smarter Balanced tests, some states’ passing percentages dipped below 50 or even 40 percent in reading or math, according to news reports.
PARCC just recently determined the scoring on its exams. There will be five levels of performance: Level 1, Did not yet meet expectations; Level 2: Partially met expectations; Level 3: Approached expectations; Level 4: Met expectations; Level 5: Exceeded expectations.
At an online seminar with education reporters last week, Jeffrey Nellhaus, the chief of assessment for PARCC Inc., said scores will range from 650 to 850. The threshold for getting a Level 2 is 700; for Level 3, 725; and for Level 4, 750. The score for Level 5 will vary but will likely be about 800, Nellhaus said.
He said PARCC did not define which level of performance would be considered proficient, saying states will have some flexibility in that area.
