The PARCC is coming up, and a lot of students are unaware of some basic facts of the assessment.  

The acronym “PARCC” stands for “Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.” PARCC is computer based and matches the lofty expectations of the Common Core State Standards. The assessment requires students to think critically and solve real world problems. The PARCC assesses what a student is learning in school and helps teachers and parents to know if their students are on track for success in college and careers.  

“In order for D.C. schools to get money, we have to do PARCC,” said testing coordinator Joshua Hurley-Bruno, also known as “HB”. Hurley-Bruno said he believes this is necessary for students because without federal funding students would not have all the necessities they need.  

Hurley-Bruno said PARCC is necessary for teachers as well because students’ scores impact teachers’ overall ratings.  

“Teachers have something called IVA (individual value added) which can be affected by test scores such as the PARCC,” Hurley-Bruno said. 

Any students enrolled in English 1 and 2, Algebra 1, Geometry, any sophomore or first-year student enrolled in Algebra 2, and all students in biology must take the PARCC test. Students will be taking the assessment from April 25 through May 20, after completing PARCC practice tests to prepare for the actual assessment.