Center staff have recently led and / or participated in psychometric and research work for the PARCC consortium and states using PARCC content (i.e., Louisiana, Massachusetts) such as conducting analyses and advising on issues related to comparability of test scores across test forms with varying proportions of PARCC content,
different administration modes, and other conditions that may impact the comparability claims that can be made about the test scores.
The shift to the Common Core State Standards and consortium - based assessments (e.g., PARCC and Smarter Balanced) has increased the focus on comparability and, importantly, on the threats to comparability including, but not limited to:
different modes of test
administration (computer vs. paper),
different types of devices (e.g., tablets, desktop computers), and
different administration vendors.