Arizona is withdrawing from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC.
State education officials said the move was not a sign of lack of confidence in PARCC. But the state’s procurement code expects a competitive process for assessments, and to comply with that requirement, Arizona will issue a request for proposals. State leaders also thought it was prudent to withdraw from the consortium altogether to avoid any perception of bias in the selection process.
PARCC is free to submit a bid along with other vendors.