New Approach to DesigningPerformance Level Descriptors: PARCC Mathematics Summative Assessment

March 2013

1What are Performance Level Descriptors?2Performance Level Descriptors or PLDs describe what students at each performance level know and can do relative to the grade-level or course content standards assessed.

2Building on Work to Date3In October 2012 PARCC established 5 performance levels

Level 5: Students performing at this level demonstrate a distinguished command of the knowledge, skills, and practices embodied by the Common Core State Standards assessed at their grade level.Level 4: Strong commandLevel 3: Moderate commandLevel 2: Partial commandLevel 1: Minimal command

PARCC Governing Board and Advisory Committee on College Readiness vote in October 2012 established 5 performance levelsLevel 5: Students performing at this level demonstrate a distinguished command of the knowledge, skills, and practices embodied by the Common Core State Standards assessed at their grade level.Level 4: Strong commandLevel 3: Moderate commandLevel 2: Partial commandLevel 1: Minimal command

Policy-level PLDs serve as a foundation for grade- and subject-specific performance level descriptors3Factors that determine the performance levels (Cognitive Complexity)Mathematical ContentMathematical PracticesStimulus MaterialResponse ModeProcessing Demand

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4Claims Driving Design: MathematicsMaster Claim: Students are on track or ready for college and careers 5

*Major content and additional and supporting content for each grade level are outlined in the PARCC Model Content Frameworks, available at http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-model-content-frameworks.Master Claim: Students Are On Track to College and Career ReadinessThe PARCC PLDs are based on a Master Claim. This Master Claim reflects the overall goal of the Common Core State Standardsto prepare students for college and careers, and specifically to ensure students have the skills and understandings required for success. Each student will receive sub-claim scores that address. In Sub-claim A students solve problems involving major content, as defined in the PARCC Model Content Frameworks;In Sub-claim B students solve problems involving additional and supporting content, as defined in the PARCC Model Content Frameworks;In Sub-claim C students express mathematical reasoning;In Sub-claim D students solve problems by engaging in the modeling practice; and In Sub-claim E, which only appears in grades 3-6, students demonstrate fluency 5Looking at the PLDs6

Gives the Sub-Claim that the PLD is written for (A-Major Content)Gives the PLD by performance level ranging from 2-5. Level 1 indicates a range from no work shown to Minimal commandGives the Concept the PLD is based on

This is a Grade 4 PLD for Sub-Claim A. It focuses on content within Numbers and Operations Fractions.

Please note that Level 1: Minimal command is not listed within the PLDs. Students scoring within level one may range in performance from having no command to a minimal command of the content.

6PARCCs Process in Developing Performance Level DescriptorsPLD Grade Band MeetingsFinal PLDsDraft PLDs reviewed by College Board and Educational Testing Service (ETS)Mathematics Operational Working Group (OWG) refined PLDsDraft Math PLDs presented to the PARCC Executive Committee for approval Draft PLDs released for public comment7

The PLD process began with scheduled week long PLD grade band meetings where state representatives developed the language for descriptors of the standards/evidence statements that students were expected to demonstrate at each one of the levels.

The information for each grade level PLD was gathered and formulated into a grade-level synthesis document that captured the essence of the PLD work. These were reviewed by the Center for Assessment, Educational Testing Service and College Board, and the PARCC Technical Advisory Committee.

Using this feedback, the Math Operational Working Group (Math OWG) members who participated in the PLD meetings met again to add more specificity to the PLDs and to ensure that a common language for descriptors was apparent across the grade level, and that alignment to the standards and grade-to-grade consistency and differentiation were also evident.

7Capturing What Students Can DoPLDs

capture how all students perform

show understandings and skill development across the spectrum of standards and complexity levels assessed8

PARCC PLD writers wanted to be sure that performance level descriptors accurately captured how students, even those with limited knowledge and skills, could show understandings and skill development across the spectrum of standards and complexity levels assessed. 8New Approach to DesigningPerformance Level Descriptors: PARCC Mathematics Summative Assessment

www.PARCConline.org

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PARCC is committed to innovative, technically excellent assessments that allow for all students to demonstrate their full and complete understandings of the CCSS for Mathematics. We look forward to your input on these PLDs.

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