SBAC knocks the STAR out of space

At CVHS, a new test was distributed among the students. This test is called SBAC, or Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. The SBAC is a computerized exam that will be used in place of the STAR test to evaluate the learning process of students from grades nine to 11.

The SBAC assessments are aligned to the Common Core standards in English language arts and mathematics. They consists of two parts in total. CVHS ran a field test on the SBAC to see how it would affect our school.

“I think we will look back and be happy that we’re using the SBAC instead of the STAR test because it is a lot easier to use. In total, there are usually close to over 2,500 test booklets we have to keep track of and accounted for and with the SBAC the students just complete it online. It takes out a lot of prep work for the staff and saves time on pre-administration duties,” said Assistant Principal Matt Steinecke.

The students did not like the test and said it was easy for the most part. What they struggled with was the coffee cup activity with the fountain which is the math portion. History teachers tried to prepare them for the test by mentioning the fountain in class but it seemed to not help much. Since the SBAC was just a trial run this time, no one will be getting their results back on how they did.

“I thought the math section of the SBAC was a little difficult at first but then I got the hang of it. The English portion was fairly easy. Overall, the test was okay,” said Asmin Deo, a junior who took the field test.

Even though the kids didn’t seem to enjoy taking the test, the teachers and administration seem to be very pleased with it.

“Helping the students get ready to take the SBAC was very convenient because it was online. It saved everyone a lot of time trying to prepare for it and it was easy to help the students if they had any questions,” said Michelle Trueblood, an English teacher.

In total, the process of taking the SBAC was easier than the STAR test but, the actual test wasn’t popular among the students.

“I think that the SBAC ran very smoothly. Technology issues were the biggest concern and making sure that the process doesn’t take up a lot of time,” said Steinecke.