PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) is composed of 22 states.  It is designing the assessments that will take the place of FCAT in 2014-15.  All assessments will be computer-based at that time.  PARCC has recently released its draft accommodations manual for ELL students and students with disabilities.  This is something I have wondered about.  There were some glitches this year with FCAT math testing, since it was the first year that fifth graders took that test online.  There were accommodations in place for some students.

In this recently released draft, ELL accommodations 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." 

There are guidelines for determining which students receive these special ELL accommodations.  There are specific accommodations available and listed.  Some accommodations are built into the computer program, such as a highlighting tool and definitions for specific words that don't provide an advantage in answering the question.  There are some areas that still need work, such as a student who is permitted to speak their answers to a scribe (as in a pencil-and-paper test).  The policy on translations is due this summer.




To view the entire article, see:
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/04/parcc_releases_draft_policy_on.html