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As Massachusetts considers whether to reform its statewide educational assessments, a new study from Mathematica Policy Research shows that students’ scores on the state’s existing high school assessment predict college performance as well as scores on a new test that is already in use in several states and is being considered for statewide adoption in Massachusetts. However, the study also found that the new test sets a higher performance standard in mathematics. 

The newly developed assessments of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), designed to be aligned with Common Core standards, were administered in 11 states and the District of Columbia in spring 2015. Mathematica’s study is the first to examine the extent to which PARCC assessments succeed in one of their major goals: identifying students who are ready for college. We compared how high school PARCC exams and the existing Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) predict college grades and placement in remedial courses. Mathematica’s study was commissioned by the state to inform its decision about whether to continue using MCAS exams or to switch to the PARCC’s set of tests.