Dear Pea Ridge families,
As most of you know, students in Arkansas have been taking Benchmark and EOC exams since 1998.
Grade 1 ITBS April 14 -15
Grade 2 ITBS April 14-15
Grade 3 PARCC March 18-19
PARCC April 3
PARCC May 6-7
Grade 4 PARCC April 6-7-8
PARCC May 11-12
Grade 5 PARCC March 31 / April 1-2
Science April 14-15
PARCC May 13-14
Grade 6 PARCC March 18-19
PARCC April 3
PARCC May 4-5
Grade 7 PARCC March 31 / April 1-2
Science April 14-15
PARCC May 11-12
Grade 8 PARCC April 6-7-8
PARCC May 13-14
Grade 9 PARCC March 9-10
PARCC May 5
Grade 10 PARCC March 11-12
PARCC May 6
Algebra PARCC March 16
PARCC May 8
Geometry PARCC March 17
PARCC May 7
Biology EOC April 28-29
* ITBS: Iowa Test Basic Skills
* PARCC: Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2011, Benchmark and EOC no longer adequately assesses the curriculum we teach. As a result, a consortium of 18 states worked together to develop a set of assessments known as PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers), that test the Common Core State Standards in English, Language Arts, and Mathematics.
As we begin to prepare our students for these new exams, I wanted to provide you with information that will help explain more about both the Common Core Standards and the PARCC initiative. I have included some helpful links to websites you may wish to visit. The first site provides a short three-minute video explaining why a large number of states have officially adopted the Common Core Standards. The second and third provides more details regarding the Common Core and the fourth is the official site for parental information concerning the PARCC.
Finally, the PARCC assessment is a different assessment than previous test.
Over the last three years, our teachers have been preparing for the exam by introducing critical thinking strategies, collaborative learning techniques, communication activities, and creative applications to engage learners at the highest level. As you know, in previous years our district has been very successful with standardized testing and our scores have proved it. This is a new testing era and a new test. The format, the questions, and complexity is totally a different challenge. Our district embraces this new challenge and encourages everyone to embrace it as well, but we also need to have patience. Learning something new and mastering it takes time.
The new curriculum has challenged teachers over the last three years and I know it will challenge our students on test day. We need to be patient, we need to give encouragement to our teachers and students, but most of all we need to "RELAX". The experience will make us better and lessons we learn will make us better moving forward.
I encourage you to visit these sites and help partner with us as we adjust to these new testing protocols.
http://vimeo/51933492
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy
http://www.corestandards.org/Math/
http://www.parcconline.org/for-parents
Rick Neal, superintendent of schoolsPea Ridge School District
Community on 02/18/2015