PARCC has made its sample test questions available for computer-based practice. Sample items for the upcoming assessments of Common Core State Standards have been released previously for testing on paper across all grade levels; now PARCC schools “will be able to engage with the sample items using computer-based tools such as drag-and-drop, multiple select, text highlighting, and an equation builder.”
PARCC, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, is one of the two state consortia tasked with developing assessments for Common Core State Standards that will be administered nationwide in the 2014–2015 school year. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia currently make up the coalition, representing about 22 million K-12 students enrolled in public schools. Field tests of the assessments will begin this March involving 1.2 million students in 14 PARCC states. But any PARCC student can access the practice tests in order to familiarize themselves with the technologies involved.