The Good

It’s high noon and the roll out of the SBAC online testing is tomorrow.  Administrators have organized the school into areas of testing and non-testing, with our Seniors presenting their Senior Projects in the non-testing areas.  Alternative classrooms have been designated in the event that wireless should fail (as it did in my wing this week).  Each proctor has a assistant who has received training in conducting the exam and what drink we want from Starbucks.

The first test is the computer adaptive math test, and the allotted time for administering it is around two and a half hours.  The test is untimed, so if students don’t finish in two and a half hours, well…we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.  Actually, there is supposed to be a designated location where students can go and complete their tests, but that means they have to log off and log back on.  Students will have to stop at a saved point to avoid re-doing problems.  This move could result in a number of interesting events, but I’ll save those for the next blog.

The Bad

Day 2 is beginning to cause consternation among the faculty now that we have seen the activity that is the basis of the task questions.  Most of us did not realize that half of the math portion of the assessment would be task-based.

Over 25% of Florin High School’s students are EL, with many more having been previously classified as EL.  Typically our students struggle more with word-based problems and applications.  Students and teachers don’t make excuses for doing poorly on those problems.   There is just a steeper hill to climb to get to the answer.

A list of accepted accommodations.

The SBAC

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has established “accommodations” for English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities, but even with pre-programmed accommodations, Day 2 will be challenging for those with the EL designation and for those without it.  The data collected on our students for this assessment will certainly have a significant impact on future instruction.  Reading and writing across the curriculum has long been a focus, but a greater emphasis on reading mathematical material will surely emerge.

But for now, we will breathe deep, get a good night’s sleep, and be ready when Starbucks opens tomorrow.  Tune in next week for the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the SBAC assessments.