The ABC’s of the SBAC Test

Mary Michelson, Principal Kathy Schultz, Assistant Principal

Purpose

●Define SBAC and CAT

●How the CCSS aligns with SBAC

●Examples for SBAC grades 3-5

●Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium

●Designed to measure student achievement of the recently adopted Common Core State Standards for English/language arts and Mathematics

●www.smarterbalanced.org

What is a CAT?

●Computer Adaptive Test

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●Allows students to have more engaging test questions from the real world

●Allows students flexibility and accessibility

Puts the students in control

●They have access to highlighters, glossaries, calculators, dictionaries, thesaurus

●http://ct.portal.airast.org/resources/?section=2

●Students will spend 3 hours on ELA tasks and 3 hours on math tasks over the course of two weeks.

●Students will take test on Chromebooks in classrooms first thing in the morning.

●Test is untimed, students are able to use as much time as they need.

There are two parts:

1.ELA test and ELA performance task

2.Math test and Math performance task.

Timeframe

●Grade 5~ April 20-May 1

●Grade 4~May 4-May 15

●Grade 3~ May 18-May 29th

What are the big shifts in English with the Common Core State Standards?

●There are six major shifts in the focus of English instruction with the adoption of the Common Core State Standards for College and Career Readiness (CCSS)

The Six Shifts in CCSS for English● Increased text complexity

● Evidence- based writing

● Academic vocabulary

● Reading nonfiction

● Reading and writing across content areas

● Text-referenced reading response (close reading)

CCSS Implications for English Language Arts/Literacy Assessments ●FROM:

Focusing only on reading skills

●TO:

●Focusing on complexity of what students can read in preparation for college/career

●FROM:

Students moving quickly through a text

●TO:

Students taking time to read and reread, study, and ponder

● FROM:

Mostly assessing through select response items that do not require specific reference to textual evidence

● TO: Assessing through a range of items that require students to draw evidence from text; use constructed responses and briefly write about items that require a variety of examples

Academic Vocabulary

●A conclusion the reader could draw….

●The author’s use of the phrase indicates…

●The information in the paragraph….best suggests that…

Test questions may include:

● Arrange events in order

● What does …. most likely mean

● What inference can be made…

● Support your answer

● What does the phrase… tell the reader about…

● Details that support ….include

● which illustration best helps the reader understand the information...

Examples from SBAC-Grade 3Students read passage about a nest found in a house.

● 1. Which sentence best describes the lesson of the passage?

● 2. Which sentence from the passage best supports your answer?

● 3. What inference can be made about the author’s message about animals?

Example questions-Non Fiction

● 1. Pick three details that best support this idea

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●2. Click the sentence that gives the best conclusion about the people who make maple syrup.

● A. They must protect trees.

● B. They must pay attention to nature.

● C. They must work outdoors all the time.

● D. They must like the taste of maple syrup.

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● Click on TWO sentences from the passage that best support your answer in part A.

They may write about:

● An opinion piece

● A principal received letters from students asking for more time at recess. One letter argued that students need more time to relax because they study so hard during and after school. Another letter argued for longer recess based on a study showing that kids who are physically active do better in school. Which argument has a better chance of convincing the principal to extend recess?

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Narrative Prompts

●Write a story about a time you disagreed with a friend or family member. Tell what the disagreement was about and how you resolved it. Then write the story from the point of view of the friend or family member. Imagine how two people might experience the same event in different ways.

Informative/Explanatory Prompt

●Think about a school subject, sport, or other activity at which you do well. Maybe you’re an excellent writer, a first-rate artist, or a video-game pro. Write a paragraph that describes your talent and includes tips on how someone else might improve in the subject or activity.

Performance Task Grade 4Your class is doing a science project

about animals. You are interested in learning more about where animals live. You find three sources.

● It’s A Cold Hot, Dry, Dark Cruel World! (article)

● Animal Architects from Appleseeds magazine

● Don’t Step in that Ecosystem!

●Source 1 discusses what animals do to survive in their environment. Explain how the info in Source 2 adds to the readers understanding of what animals do to survive in their environment. Give TWO details from source 2 to support your explanation.

● Using more than one source, develop a main idea about animals and their surroundings. Write an informational article about your main idea that is several paragraphs long.

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● Plan, write and revise your informational article.

What are the big shifts in Math with the Common Core State Standards?

There are three major shifts in the focus of Math instruction with the adoption of the Common Core State Standards for College and Career Readiness (CCSS)

Three major shifts●Focus: Focus strongly where the

standards focus.

●Coherence: Think across grades, and link to major topics

●Rigor: In major topics, pursue conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application

Fluency● Teach more than “how to get the answer”

and instead support students’ ability to access concepts from a number of perspectives

● Students are able to see math as more than a set of mnemonics or discrete procedures

● Conceptual understanding supports the other aspects of rigor (fluency and application)

Grade 3

● Does replacing the unknown number with 7 make each equation true? Select yes or no.

YES NO

6 x ____ = 36

8 X ____ = 48

49 / ___ = 7

54 / ____ = 6

Grade 5Select all expressions that are equal to 3 ¼.

● A. 26 x 1/8

● B. 2 1/8 x 2

● C. 4 x 13

● D. ¼ x 3

● E. 13 x ¼

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● A and E

Grade 5

●Enter a value for b that makes this statement true:

5 x b is less than 5 but greater than zero.

Grade 5 Performance Task

Your class is going to make a garden. The total area will be a rectangle 40 feet long and 30 feet wide.

The class has chosen to plant 4 sections according to this plan:

● ¼ will be planted with carrots

● 1/6 will be planted with potatoes.

● 1/8 will be planted with broccoli.

● 1/12 will be planted with corn.

●Analyze the plan and create an alternate plan.

● Make sure your child gets lots of rest.

● Eat a healthy breakfast.

● Don’t say good luck, say I know you will do your best.

● Get them to school on time.

● Help keep them calm.

For more information:

●http://www.smarterbalanced.org/

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●Parent information night on Monday, April 6th at 7:30 pm, Darien Library