The PARCC has created UnderstandTheScore.org, a website intended for parents to understand their child’s scores and use resources that will help them support their child’s future learning.

The PARCC- the Partnership for Assessment Readiness for College and Careers-has created the site to accompany the new assessments it first distributed last spring for which parents will begin to receive their child’s individualized score report for in late November/early December.

"Since the PARCC tests assess complex skills like critical-thinking, writing and problem-solving, the score reports may look different than previous reports. UnderstandTheScore.org helps parents understand these new reports,” the company said in a statement.

Many experts in education say the PARCC has raised educational standards to the next level, and as a result many parents might be confused by what their child’s test score means.

According to WCBC radio, Maryland Superintendent of Schools, Dr. David Cox, "said the new curriculum standards have raised the bar to a much more rigorous level, and student progress is being measured with an entirely different measuring stick with the PARCC assessments."

Certainly, the PARCC has acknowledged that students are likely to not perform as well on the new assessments as they have in the past.

"Fewer students are likely to meet them initially. That doesn’t mean they aren’t doing as well – it just means the expectations are higher,” the PARCC said on its site. 

The company compares it to this:

A child who is learning to play basketball starts with a lower-than-normal basketball hoop. As she gets better, her parents raise the hoop to make it more challenging. She’s probably going to score fewer baskets at first, but she’s going to keep getting better.

In order to help parents support their children with these new and different results, the PARCC is guiding parents through interpretation of the scores and providing them with support for their child’s strengths and weaknesses with their new site.

The site has a comprehensive Score Report Guide, resources, tools and activities to support student progress and a FAQ library where parents can seek answers to their questions regarding the assessments in their states.

A majority of the resources are also available in Spanish.

Check out UnderstandTheScore.org and watch PARCC’s Understanding the Score Report video below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

11/10/2015