The first of two groups of states working to design assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards today released its recommendations for the types of supports that can be used to help English-learners demonstrate their content knowledge and skills.
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC—composed of 22 states—has issued its draft accommodations manual for English-language learners and students with disabilities.
In the draft policy—which PARCC will circulate for public comment through May 13—the consortia states that an accommodation considered for English-learners must meet three conditions:
•It must reduce the "linguistic load" or complexity of the language that is necessary for students to access the content in curriculum or on the assessment;
•It can't alter what is being measured in a test item or alter the test itself;
•It has to help "address the unique linguistic and socio-cultural needs of an EL by reducing the effects of English-language skills on the student's overall performance on the assessment."
