Teachers in Chicago and other cities think the PARCC is a much better assessment than previous state-mandated tests, but have mixed feelings about whether it’s age-appropriate or too challenging.

They also wish they had more professional development around the PARCC – and specifically, the chance to see more sample questions.

Those are some of the findings from a report released today by Teach Plus that’s based on a survey of more than 1,000 teachers in three states and the District of Columbia. The results come just one day after Illinois began administering the controversial assessment to elementary school students and in the midst of an opt-out movement that’s picking up steam across the state and the country.

“What did surprise me is how strongly teachers felt nationally and in Chicago about how much better the PARCC was than the assessment that came before it, the ISAT,” says Josh Kaufmann, executive director of Teach Plus in Chicago. “The ISAT (Illinois Standards Achievement Test) was particularly bad. It’s much weaker at gauging student learning and looking at student critical thinking than other assessments.”

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