Today was the first day of my students taking the new SBAC, Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, on-line. It went a lot smoother than I had thought it would, although there were four teachers in the room to be sure that all the kids were able to login correctly. I was pretty impressed that they were able to log in so quickly, and then begin the test. To say this test is different from the past tests we have had would be an under statement. It was extremely different. Students in the past have always used just a pencil and paper, well today it was pencil paper, whiteboard (optional), and then answering on the computer.
My district does not have computer/technology teachers in the elementary grades, so there were a few hurdles as far as just the basic typing instructions, i.e. capital letters for sign in, hyphens, etc... I take my students weekly to the computer lab, but we do not have a keyboard program that we use to get them familiar with just the keyboard in general. This was an obstacle, but we overcame it.
Once everyone was logged in and began working, I was able to walk around and observe what they were doing, as well as get an idea as to what types of questions were being asked. The SBAC is a common core based test, so it was really interesting to see the expectations that will be set in place for next year. It was for sure more difficult, however, we have not been doing "common core" in the upper grades this year, so there's that! I think if I was able to teach the common core standards all year, some of the questions wouldn't have looks SO foreign to the kiddos. Overall I was impressed at how hard they worked, they really gave it there all. I am sad that we will not see any scores from these tests as they are just for practice, and information.
I am excited to see all the technology that we are using in testing, and teaching. I am excited to see where this all goes. As a teacher you always hear about the pendulum swinging. We are really in the thick of it right now! It is an exciting time to be a teacher. New standards and different styles of teaching, as well as new ways of testing. I love when there is change, it really makes you think and give it your all! I also fear it at times as there is SO much information out there and research to be done. It is very cool that I am a part of this movement in teaching, and in all honesty I am truly excited to see where it all goes, and how it shakes out!
What are your thoughts on the new Common Core Standards? Have your students taken the SBAC? I would love to hear your thoughts and what you think. If you are an educator, parent, or just plain out interested in Common Core Standards, comment below and let's get a discussion going.
Happy Monday
I am not a teacher, but it seems interesting to me that some classes don't teach the common core. Is this something to look for when choosing a school for my child? Thanks, Kim!
ReplyDeleteCommon core standards are being rolled out over the next year or so. It truly depends on the district where your child goes to school and the state in which you live. CA, where I live, the common core state standards are already in motion in many districts and grade levels. In my particular district the lower grades have already jumped on board and have been teaching to the common core standards. Our upper grades have not, well some of us have implemented lessons here and there, but as for our grading we have not used the common core standards. Next year will be a big change for my district and we will all be teaching to the common core standards.
DeleteAs far as looking for that in your child's school, like I said in the state of CA we will all be using those standards for teaching over the next few years so all the classes should be teaching to them. I don't know if that answered your question but I hope I came somewhere at least within the ballpark....