Going Above & Beyond
As you know, the PARCC Assessments are aligned with the new, more rigorous Common Core State Standards. As we review the scores of our students on the 2017 PARCC assessments and prepare them for the 2018 PARCC assessments, we are aligning our instruction to the higher standards and partnering with parents to support student success on the assessments. For the English Language Arts/Literacy written responses, students are required to “go above and beyond” in answering the writing prompts to achieve the highest score for their written responses. Going above and beyond in answering the writing prompts means that students need to provide a response that goes above answering the question. Receiving the highest score means that they need to analyze and think more, justify their response with convincing evidence and defend their thinking and reasoning. To support students with going above and beyond in their written responses for instruction or assessments, we continue to utilize the Lucy Calkin’s Units of Study Writing Program. This year, we are also implementing “arguing and reasoning” strategies. Furthermore, we are establishing a culture in writing of “Making the Ordinary Extraordinary!” In addition, a wonderful site to help parents understand the standards, PARCC scoring, and how to help their children (in grades 3-5) is: http://www.greatschools.org/gk/common-core-test-guide/parcc-3rd-grade/maryland/
As you know, the PARCC Assessments are aligned with the new, more rigorous Common Core State Standards. As we review the scores of our students on the 2017 PARCC assessments and prepare them for the 2018 PARCC assessments, we are aligning our instruction to the higher standards and partnering with parents to support student success on the assessments. For the English Language Arts/Literacy written responses, students are required to “go above and beyond” in answering the writing prompts to achieve the highest score for their written responses. Going above and beyond in answering the writing prompts means that students need to provide a response that goes above answering the question. Receiving the highest score means that they need to analyze and think more, justify their response with convincing evidence and defend their thinking and reasoning. To support students with going above and beyond in their written responses for instruction or assessments, we continue to utilize the Lucy Calkin’s Units of Study Writing Program. This year, we are also implementing “arguing and reasoning” strategies. Furthermore, we are establishing a culture in writing of “Making the Ordinary Extraordinary!” In addition, a wonderful site to help parents understand the standards, PARCC scoring, and how to help their children (in grades 3-5) is: http://www.greatschools.org/gk/common-core-test-guide/parcc-3rd-grade/maryland/