The document summarizes collaboration between the Massachusetts Boards of Elementary and Secondary Education and Higher Education to better align K-12 and postsecondary education. It outlines several joint projects, including defining college and career readiness, raising awareness of college opportunities, and providing K-12 schools with data on student outcomes. It also discusses development of a next-generation state assessment to better measure readiness for college and careers, including field testing the PARCC assessment and studies to evaluate its quality, rigor, and efficacy. The boards will use results of these studies to inform their decisions about adopting PARCC.

1. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and
Board of Higher Education
Joint Meeting | April 28, 2015

2. Update to the Boards of
Elementary and
Secondary Education
and Higher Education
Fitchburg State University
April 28, 2015
Early, K-12 and Higher
Education Collaboration

3. Policy Work
Aligning K-12, Higher Education and Career
Expectations
• Project: Joint Definition of College and Career
Readiness
Learning
• Read &
comprehend
• Build & present
research
• Use context
• Solve problems
Workplace
Readiness
• Work ethic
• Professionalism
• Interpersonal
skills
Qualities &
Strategies
• Critical thinking
• Self- evaluation
• Motivation
• Intellectual
curiosity
EssentialCompetencies

4. Student Experiences
Raising Awareness for College Opportunities and
Demands
• Project: Go Public! Events
– DHE works with guidance counselors and campus
admissions staff to coordinate college fairs at local high
schools that promote academic quality and opportunities at
Massachusetts’ public colleges & universities.

5. Student Experiences
Experiencing College and Careers
• Project: Early College Designs
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education 5

6. Educator Support
Providing feedback from colleges to high schools
• Project: EDWIN (School-to-College Reports)
– Data analytics tool that gives educators (schools, districts and
higher education institutions) throughout the state a more
comprehensive view of students, teachers, schools, districts and the
state
– Potential questions answered by EDWIN reports:
• How many graduates go on to postsecondary?
• What type of institutions (4-year/2-year, private/public) do
graduates attend?
• What are the enrollment rates of students who complete
MassCore or AP coursework compared to those who don’t?
• What is the postsecondary experience of students from a
specific subgroup? (CVTE, ELL, SWD, high needs, etc)
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education 6

7. • Questions
• Board Comment and Discussion
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education 7

8. Building the
Next-Generation
State Assessment
P-16 Collaboration

9. Despite a generation of K-12 gains, too many
students are not college and career ready
• One quarter of MA students do not enroll in
college within 16 months of graduating from
high school
• More than 1 in 3 high school graduates who
enroll in public higher education require
remedial courses (65% of community college
students)
9Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education

10. 2010 ELA/math standards adopted to better
reflect college and career readiness
New standards + lessons learned from MCAS
Ready to enter college
or the workforce
Ready to graduate high
school
MCAS
assessment of
previous standards
2010 Curriculum
Frameworks and
next-gen
assessment
10Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education

11. College and career readiness standards
supported by higher education
“College Readiness among the students
we enroll is central to the agenda for higher
education, impacting not only access but
retention, affordability and
time-to-degree.”
11Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education

12. Why the need for a next-generation state
assessment?
• Alignment to updated 2010 ELA & math frameworks
• More emphasis on critical thinking and reasoning
• Better feedback on readiness for next level
• Richer data to inform instruction
• More flexible online platform
– More timely results
– Efficiencies
– More options for accommodations
– Increasing use of technology in classrooms and homes
• Pathway to entry level college credit
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education 12

13. BESE/BHE decision and PARCC
development timeline
Field Test and
Operational Test
- PARCC scoring
- Standard setting
- 5 performance
levels
- Cut scores
K-12 and Higher Education
PARCC studies
BESE
votes on
2-year
“test drive”
BESE
votes on
adoption
(if yes,
BESE sets
CD and
BHE sets
CCR)
PARCC
(except
grade 10)
2013 Spring 2014 & Spring 2015 Summer 2015 Fall/Winter 2015 Spring 2016
13Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education
BESE
adopts
Common
State Core
Standards
and final
MA Frame-
works in
ELA and
math
2010
- MA joins
PARCC
consortium
- PARCC
test
develop-
ment
begins
2010-2011

14. Roles of K-12 and Higher Education in the
development of MA standards and PARCC
Elementary and Secondary
Education
Higher Education
Adoption and implementation
of 2010 Massachusetts
Frameworks (which incorporate
the Common Core State
Standards)
• Development of standards with
MA educators
• Public comment period
• BESE adoption
• ESE implementation support to
districts
• Integration of new standards in
all educator preparation
programs
• Entry-level course alignment
Definition of College and Career
Readiness
• P-16 engagement/shared goals
• Embedded academic and workforce knowledge and skills
Development of PARCC
Assessment
• MA chairs state consortium
• ESE staff in key development
roles
• MA educators develop and vet
items
• MA administers test in
partnership with vendor
• Readiness for entry-level credit
courses
• Placement testing and
developmental education
Adoption of PARCC/
continuation of MCAS
• Decision to be made in Fall
2015
Determination of PARCC CD • Decision to be made in
Fall/Winter 2015
Determination of PARCC CCR • Decision to be made in
Fall/Winter 2015 14Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education

15. Criteria and evidence for vetting PARCC
Field Test
Operational
Test
PARCC
scoring
PARCC
standard
setting
Independent
studies
RigorQuality Efficacy
CRITERIA
EVIDENCE
15Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education

16. What questions will the PARCC studies
answer to inform the Boards’ decisions?
PARCC Studies* Provide evidence for:
Quality
Item Quality
Research
 Whether the items capture the knowledge, skills and abilities required by
freshman year college English and math courses
 How well the items assess the full range of ELA and Math standards adopted by
the Board in 2010
Test
Administration
Research
 What it takes to successfully administer the PARCC assessments
 Time required by students and schools to complete the assessments
 Student and test administrator responses to the operational tests
Comparability
 How technology impacts the performance of young students
 The comparability of the computer based and paper based assessments
 The impact of students’ prior access to technology
 How well students can demonstrate what they know and are able to do using
different devices on the computer based tests
 The degree to which PARCC and MCAS assess readiness for the next grade
level and for college and career readiness
Accessibility
 How well the PARCC assessments establish a level playing field for students
with and without disabilities
* Studies are conducted by PARCC, by 3rd parties and by ESE staff; studies are scheduled to be completed
prior to Fall 2015 unless indicated otherwise 16Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education

17. What questions will the PARCC studies
answer to inform the Boards’ decisions?
PARCC Studies* Provide evidence for:
Rigor
Full Range of
Student
Performance
 The extent to which all students, from the most novice to the most advanced,
have the opportunity to demonstrate what they know and are able to do
International
Benchmarking
 How PARCC results can be compared to the results of internationally
benchmarked assessments: PISA, TIMSS
 How each state’s PARCC results to compare to student performance in other
countries**
Standard Setting
 Comparing the judgments of K-12 and college educators to establish the five
PARCC performance levels
 The extent to which the PARCC assessments set high but achievable
expectations for students functioning at each of the 5 performance levels**
* Studies are conducted by PARCC, by 3rd parties and by ESE staff; studies are scheduled to be completed
prior to Fall 2015 unless indicated otherwise
** This report will not be ready for release until fall 2015
17Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education

18. What questions will the PARCC studies
answer to inform the Boards’ decisions?
PARCC Studies* Provide evidence for:
Efficacy
Development of
Formative Tools
and Supports
 How well the Diagnostic Assessments provide instructionally useful information
to teachers, particularly for students functioning well below or above grade level
 How well PARCC training supports not only the administration of the
assessments, but also the ability of educators to incorporate results into more
effective teaching and learning
Reporting
Results**
 How well PARCC communicates student results to educators, parents and
students
 How PARCC results can be used by teachers and students for continuous
improvement of readiness for the next grade level and for college and career
* Studies are conducted by PARCC, by 3rd parties and by ESE staff; studies are scheduled to be completed
prior to Fall 2015 unless indicated otherwise
** These reports will not be ready for release until fall 2015
18Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education

19. Examples of K-12 and Higher Education
PARCC studies
19Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education
PARCC
consortium
 Test Mode Comparability: The comparability of student performance on paper-
based vs. computer-based PARCC assessments (Spring 2015)
Higher Ed
 Higher Education Faculty Judgment Study: Evidence gathered
from postsecondary educators regarding the minimum level of performance on PARCC that would
indicate students are ready for college freshman courses (Spring 2015)
ESE
 Survey of PARCC Impacts on Teaching and Learning:
Early insights into how educators are using the PARCC formative and summative assessments to
inform, differentiate, and improve teaching and learning (Fall/Winter 2016)
Business
community
 Comparison of MCAS and PARCC (Massachusetts Business Alliance for
Education): Examined how well MCAS and PARCC exams actually indicate college- and career-
readiness (Spring 2015)
Nonprofit
sector
 Burlington and Revere Field Test Study (Rennie Center for
Education Research & Policy): Designed to improve online test administration by documenting
unforeseen challenges that included technology use, scheduling, staffing, student support, and data
management (Spring 2015)

20. • Questions
• Board Comment and Discussion
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education | Department of Higher Education 20

21. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and
Board of Higher Education
Joint Meeting | April 28, 2015