Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
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| Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers | |
|---|---|
| Name | Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers |
| Abbreviation | PARCC |
| Formation | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Region served | United States |
| Membership | Multi-state consortium |
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers was a multi-state consortium formed to develop K–12 standardized assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards Initiative and to support transitions to college and career pathways. It involved state education agencies, assessment contractors, and academic researchers collaborating to produce summative, interim, and formative measures intended to inform policy in United States Department of Education contexts and to influence practice in school districts across states such as New Jersey, Illinois, and Maryland. The consortium’s work intersected with debates involving actors like the National Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and stakeholders including U.S. Congress members and state legislatures.
Overview
The consortium united participating states to design assessments for grades 3–11 in mathematics and English language arts, aiming to measure college- and career-readiness as defined by the Common Core State Standards Initiative and to produce comparable results across jurisdictions such as Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Ohio. Partner entities included state departments like the Florida Department of Education and the New York State Education Department, alongside contractors with histories of work for organizations such as Educational Testing Service and Pearson PLC. PARCC’s governance and deliverables were shaped amid broader policy developments involving the Race to the Top competition and federal guidance from the U.S. Department of Education.
Development and Governance
Development began after meetings held by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to operationalize the Common Core State Standards Initiative, with funding and oversight interactions involving the U.S. Department of Education and legislative actors in the United States Congress. Consortium governance featured chief state school officers from participating states, contracting relationships with firms like McGraw-Hill Education and research collaborations with institutions including Harvard University and Stanford University. Advisory groups included experts affiliated with American Institutes for Research and RAND Corporation, while civil society engagement involved organizations such as American Civil Liberties Union and National Education Association.
Assessment Design and Content
Assessments emphasized application of standards across content domains comparable to items produced historically by vendors like ACT, Inc. and The College Board, incorporating performance tasks, machine-scored items, and passages curated with input from publishers such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and scholars from University of California, Berkeley. Item development employed psychometric methods associated with the Educational Testing Service and National Center for Education Statistics frameworks, and sought to align with readiness constructs used by institutions like Ivy League universities and community colleges governed by systems such as the California Community Colleges System.
Implementation and Administration
Operational rollout required state-level policy actions by entities such as the Texas Education Agency (which ultimately withdrew), coordination with local districts like Los Angeles Unified School District and Chicago Public Schools, and technical infrastructure engagement with vendors experienced in large-scale delivery used by systems like United States Postal Service logistics and corporations such as Amazon (company). Administration cycles paralleled federal reporting calendars used by the U.S. Department of Education and involved accommodations informed by entities like the National Center on Disability and Educational Testing and practices from the Office for Civil Rights (United States Department of Education).
Research, Validity, and Criticism
Independent validity studies were conducted by researchers at institutions including University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, and Vanderbilt University and compared PARCC score interpretations with benchmarks from ACT, Inc. and The College Board. Criticisms arose from advocacy groups such as the American Federation of Teachers and policy organizations like the Heritage Foundation concerning test length, instructional narrowing, and cost; legal challenges and legislative opposition manifested in actions by state governors and state legislatures including those in Florida and Texas. Psychometric debates engaged scholars from Columbia University and the University of Chicago over reliability, comparability, and consequential validity.
Impact and Adoption
At its peak, participating states included New Jersey, Delaware, and Ohio; several later rescinded participation or adopted alternative assessments developed by vendors like American Institutes for Research or state-created instruments used in Minnesota and Colorado. The consortium influenced curricular publishers such as Scholastic Corporation and professional development providers like Teach For America training programs, and shaped accountability conversations involving actors like state boards of education and federal policy through ties to the Every Student Succeeds Act.
International and State-Level Comparisons
PARCC’s approach was evaluated against international assessment frameworks exemplified by the Programme for International Student Assessment administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and national systems such as Finland and Singapore; comparative work involved scholars at University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. State-level contrasts highlighted differences with Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium implementations in states like California and Washington (state), and comparisons were drawn to legacy assessments produced by vendors such as Educational Testing Service and assessment consortia working with the Council of Chief State School Officers.