The Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards (MCCRS) and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) Implementation Review Work Group met today for the fifth time in this Legislative Interim.  The Work Group has two more scheduled meetings, however they may modify the schedule to hold their final meeting on November 12 to meet the deadline for their final report.

At this meeting, the Work Group reviewed draft recommendations including possible recommendations regarding state funding for purchase of hardware and infrastructure to meet the technological infrastructure needs of public schools related to the implementation of the PARCC assessments. The State currently aims to have students in Maryland take the PARCC computer-based assessment in the 2017/2018 school year.  Over the next couple of years, students may opt to take a paper version of the test instead of the computer-based version. Estimates for the cost of technology need to fully implement the PARCC assessments based on school system requests have been as high as $100 million.

For more information on the work of this Work Group, see the materials provided by the Maryland State Department of Education or contact Robin Clark at the Maryland Association of Counties.