If your child is enrolled in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and is in grades 3-11, come this May, they will be taking the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments (SBAC) for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics. This test has a tendency to raise anxiety in children and is almost certain to have a technological glitch along the way.
Here are some things that you should know about the SBAC.
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The SBAC is administered on an iPad or Laptop
- There is a listening component with headphones, and your child will be expected to TYPE their responses.
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The test is untimed
- Technology glitches occur, this will not limit the time your child can spend on the test.
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Testing will span multiple days
- Make sure your child is well rested and on time to school. Remember how you feel when you are 10 minutes late to work.
- It is easy to get distracted when working on technology. All though the test is not timed, an engaged student is able to get through the material in a reasonable amount of time.
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Practice material is available online
- Go to https://practice.smarterbalanced.org/student/
- The website is not always straightforward, you can login by just submitting a blank username and password.
- To have one of our trained teachers practice with your child, feel free to contact us (818)850-6284
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Best practices to prepare
- Go through all of the practice material WITH your child.
- Take note of content areas where your child is having the most concern.
- Identify which concepts have been taught but not mastered vs. not taught.
- Initially focus on concepts that have been taught, but not mastered as you will be doing less teaching and more of review.
- Create additional sample problems based on content weakness areas.
- For professional assistance, give us a call and we would love to be a part of the process.
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Failing to prepare is preparing to fail