A while back, I did a blog post sorting through the various assessments that comprise our "balanced comprehensive assessment system" at WCSU. As we roll into the SBAC testing window, here is some information and maybe a little food for thought...
What is it?
SBAC stands for "Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium." It is a computer based summative assessment for grades 3-8 and 11 that replaced the NECAP in 2015. It is aligned with the Common Core State Standards and is designed to assess mastery of those standards in schools statewide. In order to be eligible for federal funding, we are required to have our students take the SBAC. The SBAC is adaptive and includes multiple choice questions as well as open ended performance tasks.
How to prepare?
If you haven't done so already, familiarize yourself and your students with the online environment and take the training and practice tests. You can find a link to the practice tests and other resources at this WCSU SBAC Site.
If you’ve been using Google docs with your students all year, you’ve been inadvertently preparing them all along, too (see this article on how to using Google docs prepares students).
Teachers should not feel the need to veer from their instructional path to do "review for the SBAC" or use released items in isolation. However, if there is a released item that fits in well with a teacher's instructional path, it is fine to use it. The Smarter Balanced website posts sample problems by grade level that you can check out by clicking here.
The whole idea behind the Common Core States’ Standards is to provide focus, coherence and rigor. So, the SBAC is intended to target depth rather than breadth. So, the best preparation for the SBAC is to provide coherent instruction that focuses on getting all of our students to a point where they can apply our non-negotiable skills flexibly to multiple contexts and communicate their deep understanding of how and why that concept applies.
Want more info?
For more information you can check out this informative article, or please email me or Jen Miller-Arsenault, our tireless Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment.
