PARCC Releases Final Version of Accommodations Policy for ELLs

From http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/07/parcc_releases_final_version_o.html

PARCC Releases Final Version of Accommodations Policy for ELLs
By Lesli A. Maxwell
July 26, 2013

A final, edited version of the manual that outlines the slate of testing supports that will be available to English-language learners and students with disabilities who take the new PARCC assessments has been published.

The substance of the accessibility and accommodations manual had already been debated and approved last month by the group of states that make up the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. (You can read about the debate and vote of the governing board and catch up on the complex issues around testing supports for ELLs.)

The release late yesterday was of the clean, edited version of the manual.

PARCC is one of two groups of states designing common assessments to measure how well students are mastering the Common Core State Standards in English/language arts and mathematics.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education told both PARCC and Smarter Balanced—the other consortium of states working on new tests—that the unique needs of English-learners need more time and attention as the groups develop the new tests.

Access links to the manual and related articles at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/07/parcc_releases_final_version_o.html

Read a related article by the same author about potential costs of new language proficiency tests at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/07/what_will_new_english-language.html