LAPS Superintendent Dr. Kurt Steinhaus

LAPS News:

PARCC test results for elementary and middle schools in New Mexico were released today. PARCC stands for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.

In the spring of 2015, approximately 230,000 New Mexico students joined five million students across the United States to complete the PARCC assessments. PARCC replaces New Mexico’s previous annual test, the Standards Based Assessment (SBA) in English Language Arts and mathematics. The results released today are from the first administration of the PARCC assessment and thus any conclusions should be considered with caution.

Individual reports for high school students will be available in early November 2015 and score reports for middle and elementary school students will be available in early December 2015. The detailed student reports will help teachers and families further understand what students know and are able to demonstrate in English Language Arts and mathematics.

PARCC:

• Has interactive, real-world questions that require students to read complex texts, develop well-organized written responses, answer real-world math problems, and describe and defend their reasoning
• Is a computer-based test that is aligned with the Common Core Standards
• Includes short answer, essay, and multiple-choice questions

Typically, families receive results from New Mexico’s annual assessments in the summer or early fall. Because this was the first time students took the PARCC, reports took longer to prepare.

Each student will receive one score report for ELA and one for math. Score reports include several sections. The first section is the Student Performance Overview, which provides a student’s overall score and performance level. Performance levels are similar to grades; they are ranges of scores that indicate the level of a student’s overall understanding of the subject being assessed.

There are five PARCC performance levels:

1: Did not yet meet expectations

2: Partially met

3: Approached expectations


4: Met expectations

5: Exceeded expectations.

This year, students will be considered proficient if they score at a level 3, 4, or 5.

The following charts show results from Los Alamos elementary schools and the middle school for the 2014-15 school year: