PARCC

Dear Barrows Community;

As we start to plan ahead for our winter/spring calendars I wanted to share information about the administration of the PARCC examinations for Grades 3, 4, and 5. The district of Reading is taking the PARCC assessments in ELA and Math in place of the retiring MCAS assessments that the state is phasing out.  The PARCC assessment is split into two sections, the Performance Based Assessment which takes place March-April, and the End of Year Assessment which takes place May-June.  Although these testing session span across more dates, the amount of testing has not increased as compared to MCAS as the sessions for PARCC average about an hour to complete.

I am including the schedule below so that you are aware of the coming dates:  

Monday, March 16, 2015 Tuesday, March 17, 2015 Wednesday, March 18, 2015	Grade 3	ELA/Literacy
Tuesday, March 31, 2015 Wednesday, April 01, 2015	Grade 3	Mathematics
Friday, March 20, 2015 Monday, March 23, 2015 Tuesday, March 24, 2015	Grade 4	ELA/Literacy
Thursday, April 02, 2015 Tuesday, April 07, 2015	Grade 4	Mathematics
Wednesday, March 25, 2015 Friday, March 27, 2015 Monday, March 30, 2015	Grade 5	ELA/Literacy
Wednesday, April 08, 2015 Thursday, April 09, 2015	Grade 5	Mathematics

Please Note:  The dates above are not the only assessment dates, but are the first set of dates for the  PBA (Performance Based Assessment) component.  The EOY (End of Year) PARCC sessions will take place between May 9^th-June 3^rd, but have not been finalized for grade levels yet.

 

Grade 5 will take the Science/Technology MCAS assessment, as they have not yet created an updated online assessment (like PARCC) to replace the Science testing component.  This testing will take place in May.

 

PARCC parent information presentation can be viewed here:  http://www.edline.net/files/_BDEhE_/e804cebe29214bd93745a49013852ec4/PARCC_2015_parent_presentation_REV.pdf

 

 

The PARCC assessment, similar to MCAS is important data that helps informs our practice, but we are careful to remember that their results are just one small piece of our overall assessment of student learning. We strive to have a purposeful environment while we take these assessments, but we also do our best to create a low stress, relaxed approach telling students to just show us what you know and are able to do. So, when preparing your student for school on the day of a PARCC test, the best message you can share is, “Take a deep breath, relax, and just show what you already know and can do.” We will be sure we all take a deep breath here as a staff so our students can feel it is just like any other day.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you, Heather Leonard, Principal