Instructional Implications for PARCC Assessment in the Science and Social Studies Classroom

1. Instructional Implications for PARCC Assessment in the Science and Social Studies Classroom Maryland College and Career Readiness Conference Summer 2014

2. Outcomes • Identify the role of literacy in Science and Social Studies on PARCC. • Identify the rationale and elements of PARCC. • Review sample content PARCC items. • Discuss the implications for the Science and History/Social Studies classroom.

3. What is the role of Literacy in Science and Social Studies on PARCC?

4. College and Career Readiness Standards in Literacy …….set requirements not only for English language arts (ELA) but also for literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. Just as students must learn to read, write, speak, listen, and use language effectively in a variety of content areas, so too must the Standards specify the literacy skills and understandings required for college and career readiness in multiple disciplines. MCCSS Introduction to Literacy

5. College and Career Readiness StandardsFor ELA and Literacy History and Social Studies ELA Science and Technical Subjects

6. PARCC Assessments Mirror College and Career Readiness • Elementary 50% informational 50% literary • Middle60% informational 40% literary • High 70% informational 30% literary

7. How was PARCC developed to ensure alignment to the College and Career Readiness Goals?

8. What Are the Shifts at the Heart of PARCC Design (and the Standards)? • Complexity:Regular practice with complex text and its academic language. • Evidence:Reading and writing grounded in evidencefrom text, literary and informational. • Knowledge: Building knowledge through content rich nonfiction.

9. Nine Specific Advances in the PARCC ELA/Literacy Assessment Demanded by the Three Core Shifts

10. Shift 1: Regular practice with complex text and its academic language PARCC: • builds a staircase of text complexity to ensure college and career readiness. • rewards careful, close reading rather than racing through passages. • PARCC systematically focuses on the words that matter most (academic vocabulary).

11. Shift 2: Reading and writing grounded in evidencefrom text, literary and informational • PARCC focuses on students rigorously citing evidence from texts. • PARCC includes questions with more than one right answer. • PARCC requires writing to sources (authentic literary and informational science/technical and history/social studies text.

12. Shift 3: Building knowledge through content rich nonfiction • PARCC assesses not just ELA but a full range of reading and writing across the disciplines of science and social studies. • PARCC simulates research on the assessment, including the comparison and synthesis of ideas across a range of informational sources.

13. The CCSS Shifts Build Toward College and Career Readiness for All Students

14. What Criteria is Used in the Development of PARCC TEST items To Ensure ASSESSMENT quality?

15. Texts Worth Reading Authentic texts worthy of study are used instead of artificially produced or commissioned passages.

16. Questions Worth Answering: Sequences of questions are used to draw students into deeper encounters with texts.

17. Fidelity to the Standards PARCC evidences are rooted in the language of the Standards so that expectations remain the same in both instructional and assessment settings.

18. PARCC Evidence Tables are Aligned with Literacy Standards in ELA, Science/Tech and History/Social Studies

19. What is Different About PARCC’s Development Process? So, for the first time. . . • PARCC is communicating in the same voice to teachers as it is to assessment developers!  • PARCC is designing the assessments around exactly the same critical content the standards expect of teachers and students.

20. Notes About Content • PARCC does not assess science or social studies content, but it does reflect MCCS for Literacy in Science/Technical Subjects and History/Social Studies. • PARCC uses a variety of science/technical and history/social studies texts.

21. How Do Innovative Item Types Showcase Students’Command of Evidence with Complex Texts?

22. Evidence-Based Selected Response (EBSR) How does paragraph 2 of Abigail Adam’s letter to her husband most strongly contribute to the text as a whole? • It introduces Abigail’s main argument for independence, which is discussed more thoroughly in later paragraphs.* • It identifies the religious principles Abigail believes the Colonies are fighting for, which are discussed more thoroughly in later paragraphs. • It establishes Abigail’s belief that the colonies are losing the fight for independence because those fighting do not truly understand the importance of winning, which is discussed more thoroughly in later paragraphs. • It demonstrates that Abigail is certain that the Colonies will be a strong country if they win the war, which is discussed more thoroughly in later paragraphs.

23. Technology-Enhanced Constructed Response (TECR) Complete the diagram below by choosing and correctly sequencing the steps of the process of developing a DNA fingerprint, as described in the text. Drag and drop each selected step into the appropriate box. Not all steps will be used.

24. Range of Prose Constructed Responses (PCR) Both John and Abigail Adams believed strongly in freedom and independence. However, their letters suggest that each of them understood these terms differently based on their experiences. Write an essay that explains their contrasting views on the concepts of freedom and independence. In your essay, make a claim about the idea of freedom and independence and how John and Abigail Adams add to that understanding and/or illustrate a misunderstanding of freedom and independence. Support your response with textual evidence and inferences drawn from all three sources.

25. PARCC SAMPLE ASSESSMENTSReview by Content Area Grade 9 Science Example EOY Summative Grade 11 Social Studies Example Performance Assessment Anchor Text Abigail Adams Supporting Research Texts 2 primary source letters Anchor Text • Fingerprinting DNA

26. Assessment Review • Choose the science or social studies sample assessment. • Read the selected complex text and answer the sample assessment questions and identify standard. • As you read, look for evidence that supports the criteria elements of PARCC described in the PowerPoint.

27. What criteria did you observe in the assessment samples? What are the implications for instruction in your classroom based on your review of the PARRC assessment? Reflect on the Assessment Samples

28. Key Points to Remember • In all Evidence Tablesfor Grades 3 – 11, Standard 1is always combined with the teaching of any of the other standards. • More than one evidence may be combined with Standard 1. • Texts need to be complex text(s)that students will use as a basis for their answers. • Effective text dependent questions require students to draw evidence from a text to support their answers. • Careful and close reading is required in order to determine meaning and answer questions. • .

29. Written tasks should require writing to sources rather than to a de-contextualized or generalized prompt and should require students to apply the knowledge of language and conventions

30. Outcomes • Identify the role of literacy in Science and Social Studies on PARCC. • Identify the rationale and elements of PARCC. • Review sample content PARCC items. • Discuss the implications for the Science and History/Social Studies classroom.