PARCC Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual: Guidance for Districts and Decision-Making Teams to Ensure That PARCC Mid-Year, Performance-Based, and End-of-Year Assessments Produce Valid Results for All Students. Third Edition
Author: Bowman, Trinell
Date: 2014-11-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Testing Accommodations,Disabilities,English Language Learners,College Readiness,Educational Assessment,Student Evaluation,Access to Education,Academic Standards,State Standards,Decision Making,Elementary Secondary Education,Legal Problems,Special Education,Assistive Technology,Common Core State Standards,Disproportionate Representation,Mathematics Tests,Language Tests,Reading Tests,Summative Evaluation,Performance Based Assessment,Computer Assisted Testing

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) member states regard assessments as tools for enhancing teaching and learning, and are committed to providing all students, including but not limited to, students with disabilities, English learners, English learners with disabilities, and underserved populations with equitable access to high-quality, twenty-first century assessments. By applying principles of universal design, leveraging technology, embedding accessibility features, and allowing a broad range of accommodations, PARCC intends to provide opportunities for the widest possible number of students to demonstrate knowledge and skills while maintaining high expectations for all students to achieve the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Developed by the PARCC states, the first edition of the &quot;PARCC Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual&quot; was created to ensure that: (1) Participation in the assessments is consistent across PARCC states for students with disabilities and English learners; (2) Appropriate tools are used by all students to address their individual learning needs, and accommodations are provided to eligible students (including students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities); and (3) Accommodations and features used on PARCC assessments are generally consistent with those used in daily instruction. The Manual is a comprehensive policy document that provides guidance to districts and decision-making teams to ensure that the PARCC Mid-Year, Performance-Based, and End-of-Year Assessments provide valid results for all participating students. This is the third edition of the &quot;PARCC Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual&quot; (fall 2014). The PARCC Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual (the &quot;Manual&quot;) will continue to be revised as research is conducted during the early years of PARCC assessment administration. This iterative process will ensure that the accessibility features and accommodations students receive on PARCC assessments provide a valid reflection of what they know and can do, and do not alter the construct of what is being assessed. Additional guidance on the accessibility features and accommodations for the PARCC Diagnostic Assessment and Speaking and Listening Assessment is forthcoming. This third edition of the Manual includes additional information on the Personal Needs Profile, assessment administration, and specifics on the availability of accessibility features and accommodations during the first full administration of the PARCC assessments. The following are appended: (1) Accessibility Features and Accommodations for Students Taking the Paper-Based PARCC Assessments; (2) Test Administration Protocol for the Human Reader Accommodation for English Language Arts/Literacy Assessments, and the Human Reader Accessibility Feature for Mathematics Assessments; (3) Protocol for the Use of the Scribe Accommodation; (4) Text-to-Speech, Screen Reader, ASL Video, or Human Reader/Human Signer Guidance for English Language Arts/Literacy Assessments; (5) Guidance for Selecting and Administering the Extended Time Accommodation; (6) Unique Accommodation Request Form; (7) Use of an Emergency Accommodation on a PARCC Assessment; (8) Student Accommodation Refusal Form; (9) PARCC ELA Audio Guidelines Version 3.0; (10) PARCC Mathematics Audio Guidelines Version 3.0; and (11) Legal Background. [This manual is the result of three years of work among states, PARCC Inc. staff, and outside technical assistance. The manual was based on &quot;Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities&quot; written by Carver Christiansen, J. VaDeZande, and S. Lazarus. This work was sponsored by the Assessing Special Education Students State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards through the Council of Chief State School Officers. Note: Appendices are not included in this document. For &quot;PARCC Accessibility Features and Accommodations Manual: Guidance for Districts and Decision-Making Teams to Ensure that PARCC Mid-Year, Performance-Based, and End-of-Year Assessments Produce Valid Results for All Students. Second Edition,&quot; see ED549437.]