MEMO To: Dr. Mitchell Chester, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education CC: Carrie Conaway, Associate Commissioner of Planning, Research, and Delivery Systems, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education James Peyser, Massachusetts Secretary of Education Laura Slover, Chief Executive Officer of PARCC Inc/Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Francine Markowitz, Program Associate: Policy, Research and Design of PARCC Inc/Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Michael J. Petrilli and Amber Northern, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute From: Date: October 30, 2015 Re: Evaluation of the Content and Quality of the 2014 MCAS and relative to the CCSSO Criteria for High Quality Assessments We are pleased to provide this special report as requested by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. We hope that it will provide useful information for planning purposes in Massachusetts relative to future assessments of English language arts/literacy and mathematics for students in grades 3–8. The data and analyses provided herein are a subset of the results of an evaluation that examined the content and quality of four assessments relative to the CCSSO Criteria for High Quality Assessments in ELA/literacy and mathematics. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute convened expert panels in summer 2015 to evaluate operational grade five and eight assessments (end of elementary and middle school), while the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) conducted a similar evaluation at the high school level (reported separately). This special report includes takeaways from the Fordham study for two of the four assessment programs: the 2014 MCAS and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). The full report, to be released in January 2016, will add results from Smarter Balanced and ACT Aspire, as well as detailed supplementary analyses (that do not impact the final ratings contained herein). The report was co-authored by Nancy Doorey and Morgan Polikoff, whose biographies appear at the end. Should you have any questions about the results that follow, do not hesitate to contact us. Kindly, Michael J. Petrilli Amber M. Northern President Senior Vice President for Research
MEMO To: Dr. Mitchell Chester, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education CC: Carrie Conaway, Associate Commissioner of Planning, Research, and Delivery Systems, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education James Peyser, Massachusetts Secretary of Education Laura Slover, Chief Executive Officer of PARCC Inc/Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Francine Markowitz, Program Associate: Policy, Research and Design of PARCC Inc/Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers From: Michael J. Petrilli and Amber Northern, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute Date: October 30, 2015 Re: Evaluation of the Content and Quality of the 2014 MCAS and relative to the CCSSO Criteria for High Quality Assessments We are pleased to provide this special report as requested by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. We hope that it will provide useful information for planning purposes in Massachusetts relative to future assessments of English language arts/literacy and mathematics for students in grades 3–8. The data and analyses provided herein are a subset of the results of an evaluation that examined the content and quality of four assessments relative to the CCSSO Criteria for High Quality Assessments in ELA/literacy and mathematics. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute convened expert panels in summer 2015 to evaluate operational grade five and eight assessments (end of elementary and middle school), while the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) conducted a similar evaluation at the high school level (reported separately). This special report includes takeaways from the Fordham study for two of the four assessment programs: the 2014 MCAS and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). The full report, to be released in January 2016, will add results from Smarter Balanced and ACT Aspire, as well as detailed supplementary analyses (that do not impact the final ratings contained herein). The report was co-authored by Nancy Doorey and Morgan Polikoff, whose biographies appear at the end. Should you have any questions about the results that follow, do not hesitate to contact us. Kindly, Michael J. Petrilli Amber M. Northern President Senior Vice President for Research
2015-10MCAS-PARCC-Evaluation.docx