PARCC: How to Prepare for the 4th Grade PARCC Assessment

PARCC (the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) is a consortium of states collaborating to create assessments aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

If your child attends public school in a PARCC state, he or she will be annually assessed in **English Language Arts and Mathematics in grades 3-11.**

Like the Common Core standards, PARCC tests are challenging. But we’re here to help! In this article, we’ll provide useful information and some sample questions

These resources should help you and your child successfully prepare to ace the PARCC.

What is PARCC?

As we mentioned earlier, PARCC tests are linked to Common Core State Standards. They’re also designed to assess if students are on track for future success in college and careers.

Common Core is a “clear set of shared goals and expectations” for the skills and knowledge students in each grade level should master, particularly in the core subjects of English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics.

Like these rigorous standards, PARCC tests focus on **higher level critical thinking skills, problem solving, analysis, and real-world application.**

PARCC results are used to inform teacher instruction and evaluate the performance of teachers and schools. As a parent, you’ll also gain insight into your child’s academic strengths and weaknesses.

PARCC 4th Grade Basics

In 4th grade, students attending public school in PARCC states are required to take the **English Language Arts and Mathematics exams**.

These tests must be administered during a **30 day window that ends about 90% of the way through the school year.** Fortunately, this means your child will have the majority of the school year to learn the skills and knowledge tested on PARCC exams.

PARCC tests are **computer based** and ask **interactive questions** that can test higher order skills more effectively than traditional multiple choice tests.

Students write short responses, provide evidence to support responses, drag and drop words and numbers into charts, plot points on graphs, and more.

Let’s take a look at the content that will be tested on both the ELA and mathematics assessments, along with some 4th grade PARCC practice questions.

PARCC ELA 4th Grade

The PARCC ELA exam will test your child on **higher level reading comprehension and writing skills,** including the ability to:

Make inferences based on information provided in a text(s)

Analyze text structure

PARCC practice test 4th grade - Text structure sample question

Understand cause and effect

Identify and analyze theme, characterization, and conflict

PARCC - Characterization sample question

Find evidence to support a claim or response (See Evidence-Based Selected Response below)

Define vocabulary in context

PARCC - Vocabulary sample question

Analyze how individuals, ideas, and events interact over the course of a text

Describe how various parts of a text interact with, build on, and impact other parts

PARCC - Build On sample question

Identify main idea and key details

Provide a summary of the text

PARCC - Summary sample question

Evaluate the point of view of the narrator or characters

Interpret the meaning of figurative language

PARCC - Figurative Language sample question

Some questions may require students to analyze information provided in video or audio clips as well.

PARCC ELA exams feature three major question types:

Evidence-Based Selected Response: The most common question type, these two-part questions combine a traditional multiple choice item with a question asking students to select evidence from the text supporting their response.

PARCC - Evidence Based Part A sample question

PARCC - Evidence Based Part B sample question

Technology-Enhanced Constructed Response: Students use technology (drag and drop, cut and paste, move items to show relationship, click on text) to demonstrate critical thinking, analysis, and comprehension abilities.

PARCC - Technology sample question

Your child may be asked to select pieces of text to support his answer to a question, check each answer choice that could be a correct response to the question, drag and drop steps into the correct order, etc.

Range of Prose Constructed Response: These short response items require students to write a response to a question about a text(s). The response should include evidence from the text, and your child should use grade level-appropriate spelling and grammar.

Four of these questions appear on each test. Some involve literary analysis, while others require students to complete a research task (reading passages related to a topic and then answering a question, including information from both passages in the response).

Below is an example of a literary analysis writing task:

PARCC - Literary Analysis sample analysis writing task

Students will also have a narrative writing task, which will require them to add dialogue to a short story, write an alternate ending, or write the same story from a different character’s perspective.

PARCC - Narrative sample

PARCC ELA is divided into three sessions, which are called “units.” For fourth grade students, each unit has a 90 minute time limit.

Remember that although PARCC ELA is a challenging test, your child can effectively prepare using a PARCC practice test 4th grade!

PARCC Math 4th Grade

PARCC Math will measure your child’s ability to solve multi-step math problems that require critical thinking and address real-world situations. Your child may need to demonstrate the following skills:

Make sense of quantities and relationships to solve real world problems

PARCC - Real World Problems sample

Find and correct errors (See the Type II task below)

Understand the characteristics of geometric shapes, area, perimeter, and angle measurements

PARCC - Angles sample

Interpret data

Add, subtract, multiply, and divide

PARCC - Multiplication sample

Understand place value and the number system

Understand fractions and decimals (Note: The 4th grade test places a heavy emphasis on fractions.)

PARCC - Fractions sample

There are three major task types on PARCC Mathematics assessments:

Type I: Tasks assessing concepts, skills, and procedures. (The multiple choice sample questions above fall into this category.)

Type II: Tasks assessing the ability to express mathematical reasoning (written arguments and justifications, critiques of reasoning, precision in mathematical statements).

PARCC - Type II Part A sample

PARCC - Type II Part B sample

Type III: Tasks assessing models/application in real world contexts or scenarios.

PARCC - Task 3 Part A sample

PARCC - Task 3 Part B sample

The Math exam is divided into four “units. For fourth grade students, each unit has a 60-minute time limit.

Like the ELA assessment, this test can be difficult. Use the PARCC practice test 4th grade to help your child build confidence and familiarity with this challenging test content!

How to Prepare for PARCC 4th Grade

If you’re feeling a little nervous about the PARCC tests, following these tips can help both you and your child feel confident and prepared as the exam approaches.

First, remember that PARCC tests are aligned with Common Core, and so is your child’s curriculum. This means that the material your child learns at school each day should be the same material tested on the PARCC assessments.

With this in mind, encourage your child to listen closely in class, complete all classwork and homework, and ask questions if needed. If your child seems to struggle with reading, writing, or math this year, you may want to ask the teacher for extra help or consider hiring a tutor.

To improve your child’s reading comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar, we recommend setting a weekly reading goal. The goal can be to read a certain amount of pages or minutes each week.

Your child should choose something interesting and engaging. Anything is fine, as long as the material is grade level appropriate.

To brush up on math skills, you can find workbooks, apps, computer programs, Youtube videos, online lessons, etc. If you know your child is struggling with one or two skills in particular, try to find material related to these topics.

Last but not least, it’s always a great idea to work on practice questions and complete full length practice tests.

This will help your child become familiar with the structure and content of the test, which will make her feel more comfortable and confident on test day.

As your child misses questions, take the time to discuss where she went wrong and why the right answer is correct. Brainstorm better approaches or strategies to use with this question type in the future.

Keep practice sessions as short, engaging, and positive as possible to prevent your child from growing frustrated or anxious. It’s also important not to overemphasize the test so that your child won’t develop an unhealthy amount of test anxiety.

Make sure your child gets a solid night of sleep the evening before the test. On the big day, serve a filling and nutritious breakfast. You may also want to advise your child to dress in layers in case the testing room is too hot or too cold.

If you follow these tips and work with PARCC practice tests 4th grade, your child should be well on her way to a successful PARCC performance.