SBAC is Becoming a Growing Problem at Pioneer High School
Teachers and students find that Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium tests are not beneficial.
By Andrew Mauga
Teachers and students find that Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium tests are not beneficial.
By Andrew Mauga
Having been around for almost a decade, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium tests Pioneer juniors on their math, science and English knowledge and gives feedback to teachers regarding their performance. With a goal to be more equitable than other standardized assessments, “the tests are designed so that students who take them—including students who are learning English or have special needs—can participate in the tests meaningfully and demonstrate what they know and can do,” according to SBAC’s website.
While it isn’t part of California’s curriculum, it’s something that is meant to be beneficial towards teachers and students alike.
“I think it’s really helpful, especially for kids who might be struggling because it indicates to us that there’s some gaps that need to be filled in,” said Kiera Strockis, Assistant Principal of Student Services. “It lets teachers look back at the data and be like ‘oh, man, we really struggled in English last year.’”
After the tests were first used in 2014 by the California Board of Education, Pioneer has become accustomed to the testing system for some time now.
“The new thing is that there are some colleges you can opt in for when you’re testing,” said Strockis. “SBAC testing is a statewide assessment that informs the district of basically how we’re progressing. If there's a group that's struggling then we look at this data and we can provide more support for them.”
During the month of March, juniors were tested on Tuesdays, meaning that anyone who was testing missed their classes, causing frustration for many teachers, including math teacher Whitney Goodman.
“When students are asked to take the test, I can’t teach that day,” said Goodman. “It’s especially difficult because I have mixed levels in my class. So the day that juniors are taking the SBAC, I still have some sophomores and seniors in my class that I can’t teach because I can’t move on without my juniors.”
For certain AP teachers who teach juniors, it can ultimately put a stop to their lesson planning in regards practicing for the AP exam.
“It was very frustrating because we’re preparing for the AP test,” said English teacher Michelle Bowman. “And we were reading a play, so it interrupted everything.”
Some students on campus see the SBAC as something that is beneficial, while others don’t.
“I personally don’t think I benefited from the testing whatsoever, if anything it was a waste of time,” said Katherine Vezien, 11. “I think SBAC should be removed. Most students, including myself, don’t take the testing seriously. So the results from the test are inaccurate anyway.”
Evelyn Nguyen, 11, also agrees that the SBAC should be removed from the learning environment.
“I vouch for getting rid of SBAC because it isn't a reliable gauge of how much a student has learned,” said Nguyen. “Some people suffer from testing anxiety which could affect their scores.”
On the contrary, Ally Lee, 11, feels that the test still has some beneficial components.
“It’s always good to know and experience the average standard of skills that are necessary,” said Lee. “I think it’s beneficial for students to experience the SBAC test and really get a sense of their academic performances.”
The test difficulty varied for each student because of their differences in math and English. Despite the challenges the testing posed to teachers, one thing students enjoyed after taking their SBAC tests was early release.
“I liked the SBAC because we got out early,” said Megan Ng, 11. “The math part was very difficult because math is not my strong suit, but the English portion was fine.”
Davis Jones, 11, also appreciated the early release that came with SBAC and felt that portions of the test were more difficult than others were.
“The math portion was difficult because geometry is challenging for me and the English segment was not too challenging,” said Jones. “I personally have no preference on if we keep the SBAC or remove it, but the early release was a nice change.”
While it isn’t part of California’s curriculum, it’s something that is meant to be beneficial towards teachers and students alike.
“I think it’s really helpful, especially for kids who might be struggling because it indicates to us that there’s some gaps that need to be filled in,” said Kiera Strockis, Assistant Principal of Student Services. “It lets teachers look back at the data and be like ‘oh, man, we really struggled in English last year.’”
After the tests were first used in 2014 by the California Board of Education, Pioneer has become accustomed to the testing system for some time now.
“The new thing is that there are some colleges you can opt in for when you’re testing,” said Strockis. “SBAC testing is a statewide assessment that informs the district of basically how we’re progressing. If there's a group that's struggling then we look at this data and we can provide more support for them.”
During the month of March, juniors were tested on Tuesdays, meaning that anyone who was testing missed their classes, causing frustration for many teachers, including math teacher Whitney Goodman.
“When students are asked to take the test, I can’t teach that day,” said Goodman. “It’s especially difficult because I have mixed levels in my class. So the day that juniors are taking the SBAC, I still have some sophomores and seniors in my class that I can’t teach because I can’t move on without my juniors.”
For certain AP teachers who teach juniors, it can ultimately put a stop to their lesson planning in regards practicing for the AP exam.
“It was very frustrating because we’re preparing for the AP test,” said English teacher Michelle Bowman. “And we were reading a play, so it interrupted everything.”
Some students on campus see the SBAC as something that is beneficial, while others don’t.
“I personally don’t think I benefited from the testing whatsoever, if anything it was a waste of time,” said Katherine Vezien, 11. “I think SBAC should be removed. Most students, including myself, don’t take the testing seriously. So the results from the test are inaccurate anyway.”
Evelyn Nguyen, 11, also agrees that the SBAC should be removed from the learning environment.
“I vouch for getting rid of SBAC because it isn't a reliable gauge of how much a student has learned,” said Nguyen. “Some people suffer from testing anxiety which could affect their scores.”
On the contrary, Ally Lee, 11, feels that the test still has some beneficial components.
“It’s always good to know and experience the average standard of skills that are necessary,” said Lee. “I think it’s beneficial for students to experience the SBAC test and really get a sense of their academic performances.”
The test difficulty varied for each student because of their differences in math and English. Despite the challenges the testing posed to teachers, one thing students enjoyed after taking their SBAC tests was early release.
“I liked the SBAC because we got out early,” said Megan Ng, 11. “The math part was very difficult because math is not my strong suit, but the English portion was fine.”
Davis Jones, 11, also appreciated the early release that came with SBAC and felt that portions of the test were more difficult than others were.
“The math portion was difficult because geometry is challenging for me and the English segment was not too challenging,” said Jones. “I personally have no preference on if we keep the SBAC or remove it, but the early release was a nice change.”