SBAC Prep

The week of April 23-27 you will be taking the SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) test. You will be tested in the subjects of Language Arts (Reading and Writing) and Math.

Websites for Practice

Universal Tools

Universal Tools are available to all students taking the SBAC tests. They are tools to hep you when you are taking the test.
Watch the following videos to learn how to use the Embedded Universal Tools for the SBAC test.
Simply click on the name of the tool to be linked to a video.

DIGITAL NOTEPAD: The Digital Notepad is a universal tool that is available on the SBAC Adaptive Items tests. There is one digital notepad for each question, where students can write notes about the test item. All Digital Notepad notes in the Adaptive Items tests are saved until the student takes a break that is longer than 20 minutes, or finishes that segment of the test. These situations prevent the student from revisiting any pages or items that they previously completed.ENGLISH DICTIONARY: The English Dictionary is an embedded tool that is only available for the Full Write (Essay) segment of the ELA Performance Task.ENGLISH GLOSSARY: The English Glossary can be accessed by clicking on words that are slightly outlined.EXPANDABLE PASSAGES: The SBAC test is typically displayed on a split screen, with the stimulus on the left and the items on the right. Using the expandable passages feature, students can expand the stimulus so that it takes up a larger part of the screen.GLOBAL NOTES: Global notes is a feature that is available for the ELA Performance Task, which is comprised of two test segments. Any notes that students take during segment 1 are preserved throughout the completion of the entire Performance Task. Global notes are saved, even after a break longer than 20 minutes and notes from segment 1 are available when the student moves on to segment 2.HIGHLIGHTER: Students may use the highlighter to mark desired text. All highlights in the Adaptive Items tests are saved until the student takes a break that is longer than 20 minutes, or finishes that segment of the test. These situations prevent the student from revisiting any pages or items that they previously completed.
SPELL CHECK AND WRITING TOOLS: Spell Check - For the Full Write (Essay) segment of the ELA Performance Task, students may check the spelling in their essay. According to SBAC, the tool should only indicate whether or not a word is spelled correctly, but not offer the correct spelling. You will notice that the practice and training tests feature a spell check tool that offers correct spelling options. Some writing tools, such as Bold, Underline, Italic, Bullets and Numbered lists, undo/redo, copy/paste, etc. are available for the Full Write (Essay) segment of the ELA Performance Task.
MARK FOR REVIEW: Mark for Review allows students to mark items that they would like to revisit before ending the test. Mark for review flags are saved until the student takes a break that is longer than 20 minutes, or finishes that segment of the test. These situations prevent the student from revisiting any pages or items that they previously completed.
STRIKETHROUGH: This tool allows users to cross off answer options or grey out image options. It is important to note that this tool does not prevent the student from selected a crossed off or greyed out answer choice. The effect is simply a visual indication for the student.
ZOOM IN/ZOOM OUT: This tool makes text and graphics appear larger on the screen.

Test Vocabulary

Analyze: break it down; explain what you found
Compare: find likenesses between two or more things
Contrast: find differences between two or more things
Describe: depict in words; tell in your own words
Determine: conclude; decide; choose
Develop: elaborate or expand in detail
Evaluate: find value, judge, appraise (You be the judge!)
Explain: tell about something so people understand it
Integrate: put together; combine (when you are using multiple texts)
Interpret: describe what you found out
Organize: arrange; classify; order; consolidate
Paraphrase: put the author's words into your own words; make it easier to understand
Summarize: make a short statement of the main points of a passage
Support: hold up; prove; help

10_ELA_Test_Terms_To_Know_Tip_Sheet.pdf

Practice Tests

Two different tests are available for each of the two major subject areas included in the testing: ELA (English Language Arts) and Math.
Training Tests are used to help students quickly become familiar with the software and interface features of these computer tests.
Practice Tests provide a preview of the Smarter Balanced Assessments, but do not reflect the full range of content that students may encounter on the actual assessments.

Click here to take the

Practice & Training Tests

Instructions on how to sign in:Click "Sign In"Select your grade level and click "Yes"Choose a test and click "Select"Click "Yes, Start My Test"Review the Test Instructions and then click "Begin Test Now"These are the THREE tests you should be practicing in Ms. Kaplan's class:

Helpful Tips

Use the universal tools: Highlighting, blue box, expansion screen tool, etc.
You can highlight parts of a passage and parts of a question or strike out answers they do not want.
You can flag questions they are uncertain of, but must mark an answer before the test will allow you to move to the next question.
The Note feature is used by students to make notes on passages, but also to remind you of what your hesitation was on a flagged question.
There are different ways to answer some questions; either way is okay depending upon the question.
Use word processing tools (spell check, etc)

PostersTestingTips.pdf

Helpful Videos

Common Mistakes

Frequent mistakes students make when answering questions on the SBAC.pptx

Reading_Vocab_Test_Prep_Strategies_Bundle.pdf

Multiple_Choice_Champions_Test_Tips.pdf

Google Sites

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