Dr. Kelly Griffith, Superintendent of Talbot County Public Schools, shared results of the 2017 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments at the September Board of Education meeting. Data from the spring administration shows that the percentage of TCPS students scoring a level 3 or greater on PARCC increased in 5 out of 14 grade cohorts for English Language Arts (ELA) and math in comparison to the previous year, and the percentage of students scoring a level 4 or greater increased in 7 out of 14 grade cohorts during the same administrations. In addition, TCPS students outperformed the State in the percentage of students scoring a level 3 or greater on PARCC in 10 out of 14 grade cohorts in ELA and math and outperformed the State in the percentage of students scoring a level 4 or greater in 7 out of 14 grade cohorts.
PARCC is administered for English/Language Arts and Mathematics to all Maryland Public School students in grade 3 through 8 and at the high school level for Algebra I and English 10. This was the first year students had to earn a passing score on the Algebra I and English 10 to meet graduation requirements.
The PARCC exams are considerably more rigorous than the Maryland School Assessment tests they replaced in 2015. The assessments are designed to measure students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills. While the scores on the PARCC Assessment are not being used for educator, school, or system-level accountability purposes at this time they do provide students, parents, and teachers a better idea of where students stand in regard to college and career readiness. The Individual Score Report students receive provides useful information to parents on how their child performed on the assessment as a whole, as well as, how they performed on specific skills.
“The PARCC results provide us with valuable information and support the implementation of our new Mathematics Curriculum for grades Pre-K through 8 and English Language Arts Curriculum in grades Pre-K through 5,” said Dr. Helga Einhorn, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. “These new resources will greatly benefit our students as they are more aligned with the rigor of the Maryland State Standards assessed on PARCC.” The new math curriculum builds on a progression of skills to foster students’ conceptual knowledge of mathematics so they are better able to apply learning to complex problems and real world applications. Instructional strategies introduce mathematical concepts concretely and through visual modeling with opportunities for student reflection to foster persistence in solving complex problems. The new Wonders reading series, funded through non-recurring costs by the Talbot County Council, includes online resources, leveled readers, intervention materials, and integrated assessments, all of which allow teachers to tailor instruction to student learning needs.
Additional information regarding state, county and local school PARCC data are available on the Maryland State Department of Education’s website, www.mdreportcard.org.
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