Presented by the:
Office of Special Education and Student Services
Office of Shared Accountability
Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs
PARCC Accessibility Features and
Accommodations Manual Training
for Parents
Presented on November 20, 2014
Participant Outcomes
Participants will:
• Review of the PARCC Accessibility Features and
Accommodations that will be available for the 1st Year of the
Operational Assessments
• Review of the PARCC Personal Needs Profile (PNP)
• Review the alignment between the PARCC Accommodations
policies and the current Maryland Accommodations policies
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PARCC Comprehensive
Accessibility Policies [Section 2]
Features for All
Students
Accessibility
Features*
Identified in advance
Accommodations
**
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* Available to all participating students
**For students with disabilities, English
learners, and English learners with
disabilities
Accessibility Features for All Students
Accessibility Features for All Students
Audio Amplification
Blank Paper (provided by test administrator)
Eliminate Answer Choices
Flag Items for Review
General Administration Directions Clarified (by test administrator)
General Administration Directions Read Aloud and Repeated (by test administrator)
Highlight Tool
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Accessibility Features for All Students
Accessibility Features for All Students
Headphones or Noise Buffers
Line Reader Tool
Magnification/Enlargement Device
NotePad
Pop-Up Glossary
Redirect Student to Test (by test administrator)
External Spell Checker Device
Writing Tools
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Eliminate Answer Choices (practice test)
Line Reader (tutorial)
Magnification Device (tutorial)
Accessibility Features Identified in
Advance
• Available to all students (i.e., not limited to students with IEPs,
504 plans, or English learners), but will be determined by schoolbased educators prior to the assessment, based on each
student’s Personal Needs Profile (PNP).
• Based on each student’s individual needs, a PNP is created for
the student to ensure that he or she receives appropriate access
without the distraction of other tools and features that are not
required by the student.
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Accessibility Features Identified in
Advance
Accessibility Features Identified in Advance
Answer Masking
Background/Font Color (Color Contrast)
Text-to-Speech for the Mathematics Assessments
Human Reader or Human Signer Online Mathematics Assessments
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Answer Masking (tutorial)
Text-to-Speech for Mathematics
(tutorial)
Accommodations for Students
with Disabilities and English
Learners
[Section 3]
Purpose of Accommodations
• Provide equitable access during instruction and assessments;
• Mitigate the effects of a student’s disability;
• Do not reduce learning or achievement expectations;
• Do not change the construct being assessed; and
• Do not compromise the integrity or validity of the assessment.
Accommodations for Students
with Disabilities
[Section 3]
Presentation Accommodations
Content Area
ELA/Literacy
2i: Text-to-Speech
for the ELA/Literacy
2j: Screen Reader
Version for
ELA/Literacy
2k: ASL Video for
the ELA/Literacy
2l: Human
Reader/Human
Signer for the
ELA/Literacy
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Presentation Accommodations
Text-to-Speech, Screen Reader Version , ASL Video or Human
Reader/Human Signer for the ELA/Literacy Assessments, including items,
response options, and passages
In making decisions whether to provide the student with this
accommodation, IEP and 504 teams are instructed to consider whether the
student has:
Blindness or a visual impairment and has not learned (or is unable to use)
braille;
OR
A disability that severely limits or prevents him/her from accessing printed
text, even after varied and repeated attempts to teach the student to do so
(e.g., student is unable to decode printed text **CHANGE**);
OR
Deafness or a hearing impairment and is severely limited or prevented from
decoding text due to a documented history of early and prolonged language
deprivation
Presentation Accommodations
Content Area
ELA/Literacy
2i: Text-to-Speech
for the ELA/Literacy
2j: Screen Reader
Version for
ELA/Literacy
2k: ASL Video for
the ELA/Literacy
2l: Human
Reader/Human
Signer for the
ELA/Literacy
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Presentation Accommodations
Text-to-Speech, Screen Reader Version , ASL Video or Human
Reader/Human Signer for the ELA/Literacy Assessments, including items,
response options, and passages
Before listing the accommodation in the student’s IEP or 504 plan, teams
should also consider whether:
• The student has access to printed text during routine instruction through
a reader or other spoken-text audio format, or signer;
• The student’s inability to decode printed text or read braille is
documented in evaluation summaries from locally-administered
diagnostic assessments; or
• The student receives ongoing, intensive instruction and/or interventions
in the foundational reading skills to continue to attain the important
college and career-ready skill of independent reading.
Appendix D: Text-to-Speech, Human Reader, or Interpreter
Accommodation for ELA/Literacy Assessments Individualized
Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan Decision-Making Tool
• PARCC has developed an IEP and 504 Decision-Making Tool for
States Use.
• This decision-making tool is an optional tool that can be used
to document the IEP or 504 team decision for a student’s
participation in the ELA/literacy assessments for grades 3-11.
Let’s take a look at the tool!
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Response Accommodations
Content Area
Mathematics
Response Accommodations
3e: Calculation Device and Mathematics Tools
(on Non-calculator Sessions of Mathematics Assessments)
In making decisions whether to provide the student with this
accommodation, IEP and 504 teams should consider whether the student
has:
• A disability that severely limits or prevents the student’s ability to perform
basic calculations (i.e., single-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, or
division), even after varied and repeated attempts to teach the student to
do so.
Updated Calculation Accommodation Policy**: Calculators may now be used on
all non-calculator sections of the mathematics assessments. PARCC has removed
the fluency Sub Claim E as a stand-alone claim of the PARCC assessments.
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Timing and Scheduling Accommodations
for Field Test
Category
Timing & Scheduling
Timing and Scheduling Accommodation
4a: Extended Time
Students have until the end of the school day to complete a single test
unit administered during the prescribed testing window.
It is recommended to test students with the extended time
accommodation in a separate setting to minimize distractions to other
students, and to schedule these students for testing in the morning to
allow adequate time for completion of a test unit by the end of the
school day.
Refer to the Test Administrator Manuals for additional information
regarding test units and timing since teams will need to consider if the
original timing of the assessment will meet the students’ needs.
Refer to Appendix E: Guidance for Selecting and Administering the
Extended Time Accommodations.
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Accommodations for English Learners
KEY for Table 5:
Highly recommended for use by English learners at this ELP level
Recommended for use by English learners at this ELP level
May not be appropriate for students at this ELP level
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Accommodations for English Learners
Accommodations for English Learners
Content Area
Both Content Areas
English Learner Accommodations
6a: Extended Time
Students have until the end of the school day to complete a single test
unit administered during the prescribed testing window. It is
recommended to test students with the extended time accommodation
in a separate setting to minimize distractions to other students, and to
schedule these students for testing in the morning to allow adequate
time for completion of a test unit by the end of the school day.
Refer to the Test Administrator Manuals for additional information
regarding test units and timing since teams will need to consider if the
original timing of the assessment will meet the students’ needs.
Refer to Appendix E: Guidance for Selecting and Administering the
Extended Time Accommodations.
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Module 1: PARCC
Assessments Overview
Questions and Closure
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