Mystery #1: The Smarter Balanced Assessment
It’s funny… I got a text the other night from my brother. It read, “Common Core is ridiculous. Why does my daughter have to subtract on a number line?” I couldn’t help but chuckle. I was in his shoes once. I thought the Common Core standards were unattainable, unrealistic, and incredibly difficult to teach.
I know nothing different. I began teaching in 2010. The same year the CCSS were introduced into the education system. A couple years later the Smarter Balanced company wrote an assessment to assess these standards.
As a first year teacher, I was overwhelmed. However, in the last 9 years, I tried. Failed. Researched. Grew. Asked Questions. Learned. I never stop learning. I’ve spent the better part of those years researching this assessment and trying to find ways to focus my instruction.
Mystery #2: How do we teach our kids to pass it?
I know, I know… the test isn’t the most important thing in education. But, our kids take the state test, so let’s do our best to prepare them!
How do I do it? First, I laser focus my instruction. I teach the concepts and skills hands on and visually. Second, I ask my students to conceptualize, generalize, and justify their thinking. They analyze multiple questions, processes, and answers to figure out patterns and connections to past skills. Finally, I ONLY present questions in Smarter Balanced like stems.
I have created 4th & 5th Grade Domain specific 15 question assignments. They can be used as pre- or post- assessments, formative checks, partner work, homework, or independent class work. I have also cut them and used them as gallery walk discussions or task card activities. They are aligned to the IAB Numbers and Base Ten Block assessment. Check out the other blocks as well. Click here for the 4th Grade assignment. Click here for the 5th Grade assignment.
