College-and Career-Ready Assessments - Two Paths to Effective Assessments: SBAC & PARCC

Oct 3, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley

College-and Career-Ready Assessments explains how PARCC and SBAC are building next-generation technology-based K-12 assessment systems aligned to college-and career-ready mathematics and English/literacy standards. It describes how these assessments, administered starting in the 2014-15 school year, identify whether students are on track within weeks, reveal learning gaps, and support timely instructional adjustments. The document highlights the organizations’ membership scale and emphasizes the assessments’ role in honest, accurate results and economic development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Two Paths to Effective Assessments: SBAC & PARCC

Benefits of SBAC and PARCC

Assessment Systems

Key Messages About SBAC & PARCC

College-and Career-Ready Assessments Two Paths to Effective Assessments: SBAC & PARCC Led by educators, researchers, policymakers and community stakeholders, two groups of states – PARCC and SBAC – are developing next-generation assessment systems. Anchored in real-world expectations, these assessments will measure the full range of knowledge and skills required by the new collegeand career-ready (CCR) mathematics and English/literacy standards. Both groups are developing technology-based assessment systems that will allow students, educators, parents, policymakers, and the public to identify whether students are on track to being academically ready for college and careers (within weeks of the test), where the learning gaps exist, and how those gaps can be addressed in high school before students enter college or the workforce. While each state has their own priorities and challenges, PARCCand SBAC provide the opportunity for states to come together and move the ﬁeld forward and break new ground in assessment Beneﬁts of SBAC and PARCC Assessment Systems IN DEPTH The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) has 22 member states that educate a combined 49 million public K-12 students. [www.parcconline.org](www.parcconline.org) The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), consists of 24 member states that educate a combined 22 million public K-12 students. ~~[www.smarterbalanced.org](www.smarterbalanced.org)~~ College-and Career-Ready Assessments IN DEPTH Key Messages About SBAC & PARCC • The Common Core State Standards are a critical ﬁrst step in improving our edu cation system. The next step is creating K-12 assessments that measure the full range of the standards and ensure students are on track to be collegeand career-ready. • Too often, existing assessments aim too low. They fail to deliver honest, timely results that enable teachers to adjust instruction as necessary — and allow students to get the support and enrichment they need. • SBAC and PARCC states have come together to develop common assessments, which will ﬁrst be administered in the 2014-15 school year. They are anchored in college-and career-ready expectations and will provide an accurate picture of how well students and schools are achieving in mathematics and English/Literacy. • These assessments will be critical to economic development. They will assess the knowledge and skills all students need for the careers of tomorrow, including the ability to communicate effectively, apply math to real-world situations, critically analyze literature and informational texts, and demonstrate problem-solving techniques. Does Not Mean % Proficient or above reported by State Assessment % Proficient or above reported by NAEP 80 67% 36% 71% 34% 60 40 20 % % Proficient or above reported by State Assessment % Proficient or above reported by NAEP 80 8th Grade Reading (2011) 57% 47% 35% 24% 60 40 20 % Proﬁcient Prepared 4th Grade Math (2011) Wisconsin Mississippi Wisconsin Mississippi New York New York California California

FAQs

What are PARCC and SBAC developing together?

PARCC and SBAC are developing common K-12 assessments that measure the full range of college-and career-ready standards in mathematics and English/literacy.

When will the assessments first be administered?

The document states the common assessments will first be administered in the 2014-15 school year.

How do the assessments help educators and students?

They provide timely, honest results that show whether students are on track, indicate learning gaps, and support adjustments in instruction before students enter college or the workforce.

Oct 3, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley