Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Assessment--Take the Common Core Test

Assessments for the Common Core don't begin until the 2014-15 school year, which is about a year away. It seems like a long time away, but remember many school districts will be implementing Common Core this coming school year.

Palm Springs (California) Unified School District begins implementing Common Core fully in grades K-2 and partially through grade 5 at the elementary level, though no testing on the standards occurs until the next school year.

What do the assessments look like? Not anything like a standardized test has looked before. For one, tests are computerized, meaning no paper or number 2 pencils. The prompts at the third grade level in Language Arts might be research related, that is they have students read articles (referred to as sources), comparing and contrasting what they've researched.

The tests also not only require the filling in of bubbles with a mouse click to answer questions , but also typing in short answers into an input box.  Novel indeed.  Finally, you can expect students to explain their answers and/or give examples, both difficult challenges for any student no matter what grade they are in.

The link to the sample test is at http://sbac.portal.airast.org/Practice_Test/default.html. Expect to "thumb" through many webpages to get to the beginning of the test. Don't get discouraged by the third click and change of webpage because you're nearing the beginning of the test. Keep clicking when prompted.

The test is a bit tricky in terms of moving from window to window because the Next option is at the top right of the screen, not at the bottom after the last question as you might expect.

Go ahead and take the practice test. When you're "thumbing" through the webpages, one of the prompts asks you for a grade level. Type in the grade level you teach, want to teach, and/or is the one that your child is attending, then click to the beginning of the test to get started.