SUNNYSIDE, WA – When students returned to in-person learning, the Smarter Balance Assessment (SBA) returned with them. This is the first year students are taking the standardized test after it was cancelled during remote learning.
While students have been prepared for the test by learning standards required for their grade level, the Sunnyside School District chose to put more emphasis on student learning rather than focusing on a test.
The Executive Director of Teaching and Learning for the district, Angel Carrizales, said students experienced a loss of learning during the pandemic and this year, teachers are working on getting students used to being in a classroom setting again.
Angel Carrizales said this includes teaching students how to have academic conversations with others.
“We’re not going to fix the learning loss in the pandemic in a year when it took two years to create it,” Angel Carrizales said.
For students like third grader Kaden Miranda and fourth grader Kylie Carrizales, being back in the classroom has been an adjustment. Both of them say they’ve needed to catch up on things like reading and writing.
Miranda said while it was weird, he was happy to return to in-person learning.
“When you walk into the classroom, it feels like a classroom where you can ask for help,” Miranda said.
With many students experiencing learning loss, test scores for the SBA are expected to look different this year.
“Do we anticipate that they’re going to be lower? Yes,” Carrizales said. “They’ve just had more instructional minutes than they typically had and the assessment is being created based upon standards that were created pre-pandemic.”
The test will measure how students are doing with meeting the standards for their grade level based on how other people in their grade have done in the past.
Miranda said he was most nervous for the reading part of the test.
“When you go in you don’t know the answers and don’t know if you’re going to get them correct or not,” Miranda said.
He completed the reading test already and hopes he did well.
Kylie Carrizales said she was also nervous for the test, but felt prepared.
“I think I’ve learned a lot more since my last test,” Kylie Carrizales said.
Angel Carrizales said it’s a good thing the standards for the test weren’t lowered because of the pandemic because that wouldn’t do students any favors. However, she asks parents give their kids some grace when test scores come back.
“It’s important to be able to have data on your child’s academics but it’s not the only factor we want to consider in the whole child,” Angel Carrizales said.
You can learn more about the assessment by heading to their website.
