What is the SBAC?

SBAC is an online test which includes extended research, writing, and problem solving tasks in order to measure the critical thinking and problem-solving skills

• 6th, 7th and 8th grade students will take the English Language Arts (ELA) and Math test
• All 8th grade students take the California Science Test (CAST) in Science
• Tests are completed on a Chromebook computer
• There are two testing formats for each subject / test

  • Computer Adaptive Test (CAT)

    • Questions get harder as students answer questions  correctly, and easier when questions are answered incorrectly

    • The purpose of this is to find out what they really know

  • Performance Task (PT)

    • Incorporates writing and asks students to solve multi-step, real-world problems based on information presented in the question.

All tests are untimed, meaning students can take as much time as needed (as long as they are working)

• For the CAT portion of the test:

  • Students have 45 days to complete test

  • Can only pause for 20 minutes or less without being skipped ahead to the next segment or question

• For the PT portion of the test:

  • Students have 10 calendar days to complete test

  • Students can pause for any amount of time and resume later without being skipped ahead

• Testing environments are secure

  • No student generated materials can leave room

  • Cell phones / wearable tech must be turned off / put away

  • Classroom walls and instructional materials are covered

• Math and Science:

  • Calculators are available for certain questions

• Science:

  • Reference tables are available as needed

• We run a modified bell schedule in order to give students longer chunks of time to take the test

  • These times are based on our past experience and guidelines from the state

• School days / times do not change during testing

  • 8:15-3:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday

  • 8:15-12:50 on Thursday