SBAC, formally known as Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, is aligned to Common Core State Standards. Juniors at Arroyo will be taking this test in the month of March, beginning on the 6th and officially ending on the 31st.

To encourage students, the school’s administration has begun to use their new slogan, “Don’t Lack. Don’t Slack. Just SBAC!” in hopes to embolden students’ efforts in scoring well.

Students are currently preparing to score well on the test as teachers have provided them with assistance and encouragement.

Math teachers, such as Patricia Espinosa, have been training students with practice tests. Espinosa reported, “ One thing we did is expose them to the interface of the test so they took a couple of practice tests in order to be exposed to the types of questions and the calculators that would be used.”

When asked about how students are preparing for the English portion of the SBAC, English teacher Julie Beltran, responded,“My normal curriculum is based on the content standards and we try to do things like annotate articles and prepare them for the same types of activities they are going to do in the SBAC. I talk about analyzation and picking apart pieces of work constantly. I have very few objective questions like yes-no questions, like multiple-choice questions. By giving them deeper thinking questions it mirrors a lot of the types of questions for the SBAC.”

This test is not only an early assessment for colleges, but it is also a reflection of Arroyo’s academic prosperity.

Senior Preston Lee looked back to the test and said, “For about 15 to 30 minutes every other day, I’d either brush up on my Geometry and Algebra skills or find a random news article and practice reading through it as quickly and thoroughly as I could. It doesn’t sound like much, but it does give an extra edge because you won’t be rusty going into the SBAC.”

Ranked first in the senior class and scoring well on the SBAC, George Chen said,“ I didn’t think it was necessary to hardcore prepare for it. I just trusted that I knew enough to at least score proficient. All I did was to remind myself of some basic concepts of math and reading.”
With a better idea of what the test may include, Junior Melanie Nhan said,“ I’m going to prepare by asking my teachers for advice and tips.”

Although Juniors recently took the SAT last week at school, they know this year is a busy year for them and are pushing through with the SBAC.