PARCC Accommodations for SWD and ELL Students

PARCC has recently released its draft of accommodations available for students with disabilities and English language learners.  Understanding that the document is still in DRAFT form, it may still be necessary to examine the language that will set the ground work for the future final draft. 

Below are a few pros and cons that I’ve extracted from this initial draft.  Keep in mind that I am applying this information to my own school and the unique population of students that I see every day. 

Pros

·         Allows for multiply interventions to be used with any student who needs accommodations (i.e. Braille, videos, and audio)

·         Uses buzz words such as Embedded Supports, Accessibility Features,  Response Interventions and “Special Access” Accommodations

·         Accommodations for ELL students are selected by teachers and administrators within the school

·         Paper and pencil test versions are available for students

Con’s

·         This document dictates certain requirements that must be included on a 504 plan or an IEP (i.e. time of day the test must be taken – Fact Sheet SWD3)

·         PARCC Consortium is dictating the definition of English Language Learner and how student are classified as ELL

·         PARCC Consortium is creating common methods for equating English proficiency performance levels

·         Students who get district support as ELL but are not officially classified by PARCC as ELL will not be allowed to use any accommodations

·         Accommodations used by ELL students must be “tried out” in regular classroom instruction and their effectiveness documented before taking the PARCC assessment

·         PARCC does not address difficulties that ELL students and IEP students may have in navigating the technology required to take the assessment

At first glance, it seems ELL students will be affected greatly.  If the test designers get to dictate who is and isn’t proficient and dictate who is and isn’t allowed to use accommodations, students who may need accommodations but do not fit their criteria may not be successful. 

Additionally, this draft of accommodations puts a new, heavier burden on intervention specialists and ELL teachers to document accommodations on IEPs and 504 plans.  It is difficult to understand that test makers are dictating the information that should be required on a student’s IEP or 504 plan when this kind of assessment should come organically from the teacher and classroom assessments. 

While there is still much to be discovered with these new accommodations, I predict that there will much controversy before the final draft is revealed.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my ELL and IEP students will be thoughtfully considered as the PARCC consortium continues their work. 

Let me know your thoughts on this new document! 

To read the draft, go to: http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/PARCCDraftAccommodationsManualforSWDEL.pdf