Dennis Fare - Common Core: PARCC ELA/Literacy Assessments, Grades 6-8

Grades
6-8

Dennis M. Fare, M.Ed.

English Language Arts Supervisor
Mahwah Public Schools
Mahwah, New Jersey

Research & Education Association

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PARCC ELA/LITERACY ASSESSMENTS, GRADES 68

Copyright 2014 by Research & Education Association, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
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Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Control Number 2013936856

ISBN-13: 978-0-7386-8472-7

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Dear Student,

Lets be clear

The Common Core tests youll soon be taking are unlike any tests youve faced.

But dont worry, weve got you covered.

If you havent heard it already, you will begin hearing the name PARCC a lot. This is because the state where you attend school is part of a group of states that organized themselves as the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC.

These new tests mean its Good-bye, bubble sheet, and Hello, computerized testing, and more important than the new format is what the PARCC assessments will want from you. They will test your ability to think, not just memorize stuff. Youll need to build essays, not simply answer multiple-choice questions that ask you to recall what seem like disconnected facts.

Just like a researcher or perhaps a lawyer, you will be required to use logic to present a clear, compelling case. You will need to make judgments using real-world sources, including printed text, audio, and video. You will need to decide what information should be believed, and why.

These tests and the Common Core State Standards on which they are based require careful critical thinking and solid writing skills.

Thankfully, much of what you need to help you understand and score well on the PARCC tests is right in this book.

Lets get started!

Dear Teacher,

You and your students are part of a historic shift in American education.

The adoption of the Common Core State Standards marks the first time in the history of the nation that most of our states have opted to set the bar for K12 education by ambitiously collaborating on setting and meeting internationally-benchmarked standards.

What does this mean to you?

Well, for one thing, tougher tests.

You likely live in a state that chose to become a member of one of two Common Core assessment consortia. This book was developed to address the English language arts/literacy assessments for the PARCC consortium, whose members span 19 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Altogether, PARCC states educate about 22 million public K12 students.

Youve probably seen your share of screaming headlines about the Common Core, but now the big headline for you is that next-generation assessments are coming and soon. So its time to get ready.

There are plenty of books on the market that cover the theory behind the Common Core, as well as the curriculum that brings it into your classroom. This is not one of them. Instead, this is the first practical guide to Common Core assessment. Its a bracing tour of what makes the new assessments tick, brimming with test tips and carefully crafted standards-aligned practice a workout, really that reveals what your students most need to know to succeed on the new PARCC assessments for grades 68.

Your tour guide is author Dennis Fare, a veteran language arts supervisor and teacher in one of the nations top school districts.

This is not test prep as youve come to know it because, truth be told, theres never been a battery of tests quite like the PARCC assessments.

Now, lets tackle the tests together.

PARCC stands for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

About the Author

Dennis M. Fare holds a B.A. in English Writing and an M.Ed. in English Education. Mr. Fare currently serves as the Supervisor of English Language Arts, grades 612, for Mahwah (New Jersey) Public Schools, where he writes curriculum and supervises English Language Arts teachers. He taught English for many years at Hackensack High School and has also taught at the college level. Mr. Fare holds supervisor, principal, and superintendent certifications. He served as an AP reader for the AP English Language and Composition exam for the College Board and was also a rater for the SAT test. Mr. Fares presentations to College Board conferences include: AP Open Enrollment: From Theory to Practice; AP Online Curriculum, and AP Vertical Teaming: Working from the Ground Up.

Authors Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following people for their invaluable input and support throughout this project: Janet Donohue, Assistant Superintendent at Mahwah Public Schools; Christine Zimmermann, Director of Curriculum at Mahwah Public Schools; Brian Miller, Principal of Ramapo Ridge Middle School; Suzanne Straub, Assistant Principal of Ramapo Ridge Middle School; John P. Pascale, Principal of Mahwah High School; Linda Bohny, Assistant Principal of Mahwah High School; and Dominick Gliatta, Miriam Lezanski, Roger Pelletier, Danielle Poleway, Patricia Reinhart, Kristen Trabona, all instructional supervisors at Mahwah Public Schools.

Further, I would like to acknowledge my parents, Dennis (Sr.) and Lois Fare. I would also like to thank Caseen Gaines for his help during the proposal phase of this project.

About REA

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