On July 7, 2014 PARCC issued a statement that included the following…
“..The latest good news came Friday: a legal challenge that paused work on the assessments has been overcome, and the PARCC states can continue working to build and deliver high quality assessments that measure how on track students are for success in college and careers.
This is welcome news at a time when, sadly, in some states PARCC has become a political football. That’s a shame for the educators who have worked for years to implement new standards and build better assessments. And it is a shame for students who deserve to have quality tools that tell them where they are on their path to success after high school…
Together, we are working to improve the lives of children from the Ninth Ward in New Orleans to inner city Camden and the south side of Chicago. Those kids deserve access to the same engaging and challenging education as their peers across the country. They deserve to know if they will graduate with a meaningless piece of paper or with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in a career or in college…
The reality is that the assessments and diagnostic resources are tools developed by exceptional educators across states to help make sure students learn what they need to be prepared for college and work. They also will help ensure students and their parents know the truth about whether they are on track for success after high school or not…”
~ Laura Slover, PARCC is Alive and Well
And back in 2012 PARCC issued the following disclaimer regarding their assessment…
“It must be noted that the academic knowledge, skills, and practices defined by the PARCC CCR Determinations in ELA/literacy and mathematics are an essential part of students’ readiness for college and careers, but do not encompass the full range of knowledge, skills, and practices students need for success in postsecondary programs and careers.
For example, Conley (2012) includes learning skills and techniques such as persistence, motivation, and time management as critical elements of college and career readiness, along with transition skills and knowledge such as awareness of postsecondary norms and culture and career awareness…
A comprehensive determination of college and career readiness that would include additional factors such as these is beyond the scope of the PARCC assessments in ELA/literacy and mathematics..
Since these non-academic factors are so important, PARCC College- and Career-Ready Determinations can only provide an estimate of the likelihood that students who earn them have the academic preparation necessary to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing courses.”
College- and Career-Ready Determination Policy and Policy-Level PLDs (pgs 2-3) (Adopted October 2012; Updated March 2013) (PDF)
WagTheDog 
I just spent a week at a prestigious university with 25 talented, skilled, passionate educational leaders from public, private, charters, rich and poor schools who were giving up 3 days to deeply study how to advance social emotional skills in themselves, teachers and students given our dystopian test- driven school climate. Not one (and they are trying) can endorse these assessments to advance teaching and learning let alone college and career readiness. An environment of fear and anxiety, the real narrative of 21C schooling in America is what the tests have taught children. Oh yes ; and to hate school. The higher the students’ needs the more devastating and universal the failure.
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