PARCC Accommodation Compliance

[Anonymous]

We have run into some difficulty getting accommodations for PARCC. I'm curious if it is an isolated incident or it is happening to other kids taking state exams this spring. Please share if this happened to you:

1) School System Name
2) Type of Test -- PARCC, SOLs, APs, etc.
3) Type of Accommodation given/not given(scribe, extra-time, non-distracted environment, computer, calculator, etc.)
4) Is the accommodation on an IEP or a 504 plan or one school was providing informally?
5) Did you or your child ask why the accommodation was given?
6) What was the reason given for non-compliance?
7) How will you address the non-compliance?


I'll go first:

1) MCPS
2) PARCC
3) Extra-time given. Calculator not given.
4) Both extra-time and calculator are on IEP plan
5) Child reminded two different school staff proctoring the exam that DC was supposed to get a calculator.
6) DC was told DC was not on the list and that DC's accommodation is a county accommodation, and DC doesn't get the accommodation on a state test like PARCC. Then child was rebuked for asking.
7) At a minimum we will document non-compliance with an email describe situation as reported by DC and asking for further info. Considering filing a state complaint as there is a long pattern of non-compliance with accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have run into some difficulty getting accommodations for PARCC. I'm curious if it is an isolated incident or it is happening to other kids taking state exams this spring. Please share if this happened to you:

1) School System Name
2) Type of Test -- PARCC, SOLs, APs, etc.
3) Type of Accommodation given/not given(scribe, extra-time, non-distracted environment, computer, calculator, etc.)
4) Is the accommodation on an IEP or a 504 plan or one school was providing informally?
5) Did you or your child ask why the accommodation was given?
6) What was the reason given for non-compliance?
7) How will you address the non-compliance?


I'll go first:

1) MCPS
2) PARCC
3) Extra-time given. Calculator not given.
4) Both extra-time and calculator are on IEP plan
5) Child reminded two different school staff proctoring the exam that DC was supposed to get a calculator.
6) DC was told DC was not on the list and that DC's accommodation is a county accommodation, and DC doesn't get the accommodation on a state test like PARCC. Then child was rebuked for asking.
7) At a minimum we will document non-compliance with an email describe situation as reported by DC and asking for further info. Considering filing a state complaint as there is a long pattern of non-compliance with accommodations.

There are general instructional and testing accommodations and then there are PARCC accommodations. Children need to specifically have "calculator on non-calculator sections" on the PARCC accommodations page in order to qualify for this accommodation. You would have been at the IEP meeting where this was discussed but it can get confusing between the two types of testing accommodations. What does your PARCC addendum say?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have run into some difficulty getting accommodations for PARCC. I'm curious if it is an isolated incident or it is happening to other kids taking state exams this spring. Please share if this happened to you:

1) School System Name
2) Type of Test -- PARCC, SOLs, APs, etc.
3) Type of Accommodation given/not given(scribe, extra-time, non-distracted environment, computer, calculator, etc.)
4) Is the accommodation on an IEP or a 504 plan or one school was providing informally?
5) Did you or your child ask why the accommodation was given?
6) What was the reason given for non-compliance?
7) How will you address the non-compliance?


I'll go first:

1) MCPS
2) PARCC
3) Extra-time given. Calculator not given.
4) Both extra-time and calculator are on IEP plan
5) Child reminded two different school staff proctoring the exam that DC was supposed to get a calculator.
6) DC was told DC was not on the list and that DC's accommodation is a county accommodation, and DC doesn't get the accommodation on a state test like PARCC. Then child was rebuked for asking.
7) At a minimum we will document non-compliance with an email describe situation as reported by DC and asking for further info. Considering filing a state complaint as there is a long pattern of non-compliance with accommodations.

There are general instructional and testing accommodations and then there are PARCC accommodations. Children need to specifically have "calculator on non-calculator sections" on the PARCC accommodations page in order to qualify for this accommodation. You would have been at the IEP meeting where this was discussed but it can get confusing between the two types of testing accommodations. What does your PARCC addendum say?

Thank you for this information. Are you referring to the page in DC's IEP headed "Student Participation on Distric/Statewide Assessments and Graduation Information" It says, DC will "take the PARCC Assessments in ELA/L and Math with [DC's] accommodations." We assumed that this referred back to all the accommodations listed in the Instructional and Testing Accommodations section, where DC does have "mathematics tools and calculation devices" checked off. There was no separate discussion at our IEP meeting about PARCC other than this page.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have run into some difficulty getting accommodations for PARCC. I'm curious if it is an isolated incident or it is happening to other kids taking state exams this spring. Please share if this happened to you:

1) School System Name
2) Type of Test -- PARCC, SOLs, APs, etc.
3) Type of Accommodation given/not given(scribe, extra-time, non-distracted environment, computer, calculator, etc.)
4) Is the accommodation on an IEP or a 504 plan or one school was providing informally?
5) Did you or your child ask why the accommodation was given?
6) What was the reason given for non-compliance?
7) How will you address the non-compliance?


I'll go first:

1) MCPS
2) PARCC
3) Extra-time given. Calculator not given.
4) Both extra-time and calculator are on IEP plan
5) Child reminded two different school staff proctoring the exam that DC was supposed to get a calculator.
6) DC was told DC was not on the list and that DC's accommodation is a county accommodation, and DC doesn't get the accommodation on a state test like PARCC. Then child was rebuked for asking.
7) At a minimum we will document non-compliance with an email describe situation as reported by DC and asking for further info. Considering filing a state complaint as there is a long pattern of non-compliance with accommodations.

There are general instructional and testing accommodations and then there are PARCC accommodations. Children need to specifically have "calculator on non-calculator sections" on the PARCC accommodations page in order to qualify for this accommodation. You would have been at the IEP meeting where this was discussed but it can get confusing between the two types of testing accommodations. What does your PARCC addendum say?

Thank you for this information. Are you referring to the page in DC's IEP headed "Student Participation on Distric/Statewide Assessments and Graduation Information" It says, DC will "take the PARCC Assessments in ELA/L and Math with [DC's] accommodations." We assumed that this referred back to all the accommodations listed in the Instructional and Testing Accommodations section, where DC does have "mathematics tools and calculation devices" checked off. There was no separate discussion at our IEP meeting about PARCC other than this page.

No, I am referring to a separate document that would have outlined specifically which PARCC accommodations your child would have been eligible for. For example, there are different requirements that a student needs to meet in order to qualify for the test to be read to him/her on PARCC than on any other district-level or classroom-based test. You should have been included in that discussion at an IEP meeting so that the accommodations for PARCC could be selected and justified. PARCC sets the guidelines for how and when students can receive accommodations and by and large, they are more stringent than other instructional and testing accommodations.

In the situation you described, the adults testing your child would not have been able to just provide him or her with a calculator if that accommodation had not been documented in advance. If they had done so, they would have been knowingly committing a testing violation which would be not only a threat to their own job but could put the school district in a position to receive sanctions.

[Anonymous]

NP here. My son is currently in 5th grade, and has not received any PARCC addendum to his IEP. I was told by his special education case manager that he is given "extra time" but that it's only for breaks, not extra time on the actual test.

I am not happy about this. Does anyone know whether the extra time accommodation, as written in the general IEP, is valid for the PARCC?

[Anonymous]

Here's another question...at what grade does the PArcc start having any impact on the actual child? I haven't bothered with PArcc accommodations for my ES child because my understanding is that the only impact was on the school, not the child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's another question...at what grade does the PArcc start having any impact on the actual child? I haven't bothered with PArcc accommodations for my ES child because my understanding is that the only impact was on the school, not the child.

It doesn't have any impact on the child in DC. In Maryland at some point the high school PARCC is supposed to be a graduation requirement, replacing the old tests, but not yet.

My DC is in 9th at a DC charter school. We had an explicit discussion at the annual IEP around PARCC accommodations which varied somewhat from his regular classroom or testing accommodations.

[Anonymous]

This page from DC's OSSE office has info on PARCC accommodations, including a link to the PARCC guidelines and how to ask for exceptions or additional accommodations.

http://osse.dc.gov/service/testing-accommodations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have run into some difficulty getting accommodations for PARCC. I'm curious if it is an isolated incident or it is happening to other kids taking state exams this spring. Please share if this happened to you:

1) School System Name
2) Type of Test -- PARCC, SOLs, APs, etc.
3) Type of Accommodation given/not given(scribe, extra-time, non-distracted environment, computer, calculator, etc.)
4) Is the accommodation on an IEP or a 504 plan or one school was providing informally?
5) Did you or your child ask why the accommodation was given?
6) What was the reason given for non-compliance?
7) How will you address the non-compliance?


I'll go first:

1) MCPS
2) PARCC
3) Extra-time given. Calculator not given.
4) Both extra-time and calculator are on IEP plan
5) Child reminded two different school staff proctoring the exam that DC was supposed to get a calculator.
6) DC was told DC was not on the list and that DC's accommodation is a county accommodation, and DC doesn't get the accommodation on a state test like PARCC. Then child was rebuked for asking.
7) At a minimum we will document non-compliance with an email describe situation as reported by DC and asking for further info. Considering filing a state complaint as there is a long pattern of non-compliance with accommodations.

There are general instructional and testing accommodations and then there are PARCC accommodations. Children need to specifically have "calculator on non-calculator sections" on the PARCC accommodations page in order to qualify for this accommodation. You would have been at the IEP meeting where this was discussed but it can get confusing between the two types of testing accommodations. What does your PARCC addendum say?

Thank you for this information. Are you referring to the page in DC's IEP headed "Student Participation on Distric/Statewide Assessments and Graduation Information" It says, DC will "take the PARCC Assessments in ELA/L and Math with [DC's] accommodations." We assumed that this referred back to all the accommodations listed in the Instructional and Testing Accommodations section, where DC does have "mathematics tools and calculation devices" checked off. There was no separate discussion at our IEP meeting about PARCC other than this page.

No, I am referring to a separate document that would have outlined specifically which PARCC accommodations your child would have been eligible for. For example, there are different requirements that a student needs to meet in order to qualify for the test to be read to him/her on PARCC than on any other district-level or classroom-based test. You should have been included in that discussion at an IEP meeting so that the accommodations for PARCC could be selected and justified. PARCC sets the guidelines for how and when students can receive accommodations and by and large, they are more stringent than other instructional and testing accommodations.

In the situation you described, the adults testing your child would not have been able to just provide him or her with a calculator if that accommodation had not been documented in advance. If they had done so, they would have been knowingly committing a testing violation which would be not only a threat to their own job but could put the school district in a position to receive sanctions.

Thanks again PP for the info.

I see this -- http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home#srDoc=4900&srPage=40 -- which says the "calculator on non-calculator" sections is for those with a disability that "severely limits or prevents their ability to perform basic calculations". This appears to be guidance for teachers/school staff applying for PARCC accommodations, but was not shared with us at the IEP. There was no discussion at the IEP about accommodations that would be permitted for MCPS tests differing from those permitted for PARCC, and the paperwork I referenced above seems to indicate that the IEP and PARCC accommodations were the same.

PP are you aware of any other sources that actually establish clear guidance on what is "severe" for the PARCC accommodation?

This is important for us to sort out because some PARCC tests will be required for DC to score high enough on to get out of HS.

For other parents, you may want to look at what the PARCC manual says about all the different specific accommodations ..... http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home#10637 ... but unfortunately, I can only get that link to show the table of contents for the exam administration manual. The link here specifically discusses extra-time ....http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home#10622

If anybody has a link to the body of the manual, can you please post? The links I can find only show the table of contents and not the manual as a whole.

[Anonymous]

If you get certain accommodations (like 'read to') in class and other exams, you may not get it on PARCC. For instance, to qualify for a 'read to' accommodation, your reading level has to be below a certain level. This applies to PARCC only and the school system has no discretion here--it is a state mandate. Something similar may exist with respect to the use of a calculator.

[Anonymous]

Somewhere online is the Maryland Accommodations Manuel by MSDE. If you can wade through it you may find an answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have run into some difficulty getting accommodations for PARCC. I'm curious if it is an isolated incident or it is happening to other kids taking state exams this spring. Please share if this happened to you:

1) School System Name
2) Type of Test -- PARCC, SOLs, APs, etc.
3) Type of Accommodation given/not given(scribe, extra-time, non-distracted environment, computer, calculator, etc.)
4) Is the accommodation on an IEP or a 504 plan or one school was providing informally?
5) Did you or your child ask why the accommodation was given?
6) What was the reason given for non-compliance?
7) How will you address the non-compliance?


I'll go first:

1) MCPS
2) PARCC
3) Extra-time given. Calculator not given.
4) Both extra-time and calculator are on IEP plan
5) Child reminded two different school staff proctoring the exam that DC was supposed to get a calculator.
6) DC was told DC was not on the list and that DC's accommodation is a county accommodation, and DC doesn't get the accommodation on a state test like PARCC. Then child was rebuked for asking.
7) At a minimum we will document non-compliance with an email describe situation as reported by DC and asking for further info. Considering filing a state complaint as there is a long pattern of non-compliance with accommodations.

There are general instructional and testing accommodations and then there are PARCC accommodations. Children need to specifically have "calculator on non-calculator sections" on the PARCC accommodations page in order to qualify for this accommodation. You would have been at the IEP meeting where this was discussed but it can get confusing between the two types of testing accommodations. What does your PARCC addendum say?

Thank you for this information. Are you referring to the page in DC's IEP headed "Student Participation on Distric/Statewide Assessments and Graduation Information" It says, DC will "take the PARCC Assessments in ELA/L and Math with [DC's] accommodations." We assumed that this referred back to all the accommodations listed in the Instructional and Testing Accommodations section, where DC does have "mathematics tools and calculation devices" checked off. There was no separate discussion at our IEP meeting about PARCC other than this page.

No, I am referring to a separate document that would have outlined specifically which PARCC accommodations your child would have been eligible for. For example, there are different requirements that a student needs to meet in order to qualify for the test to be read to him/her on PARCC than on any other district-level or classroom-based test. You should have been included in that discussion at an IEP meeting so that the accommodations for PARCC could be selected and justified. PARCC sets the guidelines for how and when students can receive accommodations and by and large, they are more stringent than other instructional and testing accommodations.

In the situation you described, the adults testing your child would not have been able to just provide him or her with a calculator if that accommodation had not been documented in advance. If they had done so, they would have been knowingly committing a testing violation which would be not only a threat to their own job but could put the school district in a position to receive sanctions.

Thanks again PP for the info.

I see this -- http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home#srDoc=4900&srPage=40 -- which says the "calculator on non-calculator" sections is for those with a disability that "severely limits or prevents their ability to perform basic calculations". This appears to be guidance for teachers/school staff applying for PARCC accommodations, but was not shared with us at the IEP. There was no discussion at the IEP about accommodations that would be permitted for MCPS tests differing from those permitted for PARCC, and the paperwork I referenced above seems to indicate that the IEP and PARCC accommodations were the same.

PP are you aware of any other sources that actually establish clear guidance on what is "severe" for the PARCC accommodation?

This is important for us to sort out because some PARCC tests will be required for DC to score high enough on to get out of HS.

For other parents, you may want to look at what the PARCC manual says about all the different specific accommodations ..... http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home#10637 ... but unfortunately, I can only get that link to show the table of contents for the exam administration manual. The link here specifically discusses extra-time ....http://avocet.pearson.com/PARCC/Home#10622

If anybody has a link to the body of the manual, can you please post? The links I can find only show the table of contents and not the manual as a whole.

You can't see the entire manual on line, but if you click the download button at the top of the window, it will download the entire manual. The manual itself states that is "guidance" developed by a group of states. Therefore it cannot trump the state and federal laws that require the school to follow the accommodations listed in the IEP. If the IEP says you child gets accommodations on the PARCC and the test will affect your child's graduation, then it doesn't matter what the PARCC manual says.