Report: Deeper, more complex testing provided by PARCC, Smarter Balanced

Report: Deeper, more complex testing provided by PARCC, Smarter Balanced

By  | February 12, 2016 
Education Dive

Dive Brief:

  • The Thomas B. Fordham Institute has released a new study finding that both the Smarter Balanced and PARCC exams are better at measuring higher-order thinking skills than both the ACT Aspire exam and the MCAS.
  • The study, which looked at fifth and eighth graders, reflects results similar to another report by the Human Resources Research Organization, which scrutized the same exams at the high school level.
  • The Fordham study was backed by foundations that advocate for Common Core, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dive Insight:

It's unclear what, if any, affects these new studies will have on Common Core across the nation. With PARCC seeing declining state participation, the consortium seems to be slowly falling apart. And as for the MCAS test, it's already been officially scrapped, with Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester deciding to move forward with a blended version of the MCAS and PARCC exams in 2018.

Most recently, Delaware abandoned Smarter Balanced, andcomputer glitches in PARCC testing have added fuel to anti-testing arguments by opt-out advocates.

Still, as states begin to grapple with the new standards for accountability under the new Every Student Succeeds Act, the more information they have about various standardized testing options, the better off they'll be. 

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