By Matilda Kreider
For those juniors who had been dreading taking the state’s new Smarter Balance Assessment (SBA), Governor Dannel Malloy brought some good news recently: the state dropped SBA and plans instead to use the SAT as an evaluative test.
Perhaps most exciting is that the SAT will be free for all Connecticut juniors. This change will benefit Connecticut students by reducing the amount of time spent on testing each year and by leveling the playing field when it comes to college preparation.
The SAT is undergoing a redesign itself and a new version of it will be rolled out in January.
Standardized testing is a big burden on students who are already stressed and over-worked. Most juniors in high school who are looking at colleges or thinking about future plans want to learn things that are relevant to their success and focus on AP tests and the SAT; they do not want to take tests that have no effect on their transcript and serve only to help the state evaluate them.
Junior Andy Salerno is “very grateful” to have the SBA replaced with a “more accessible SAT”. When asked about the change, he said “I think it’s a great opportunity for us. I believe that standardized tests [like the SBA] don’t necessarily benefit us and aren’t needed in school.”
Last year’s SBA results showed that very, very few students scored well on the test, most likely because the majority of students chose not to take the testing seriously. Less than 20 percent of 11th graders met or exceeded minimum standards in math. In English language arts, 35 percent met or exceeded minimum standards. This week students began getting letters mailed home with their individual SBA results.
Some students, including senior Lily Kirby, found the test format frustrating. She voiced that she “found the format of the SBA to be difficult and confusing to work with,” pointing out specifically, “the passages seemed excessively long for the types of questions being asked.”
Other seniors who took the test found that the questions were unlike anything they saw on a daily basis and that some sections required specific knowledge rather than testing problem-solving or logic skills. Luckily for this year’s juniors, they will not have to deal with a test that is so far from what they have learned.
The state worked with the College Board, which produces the SAT, to create a test that reflects what Connecticut students are learning in the classroom rather than the universal SAT most students in the U.S. take.
Being able to take the SAT for free and during school may give many students opportunities they wouldn’t have had in the past. In the past, 85% of Connecticut students have paid the $50 or more it takes to take the test, but some students were limited in how many times they could take it because of the high price. This new policy is especially important in low-income school systems where students may be at a disadvantage compared to peers in higher-income communities.
Though better-funded schools and expensive SAT preparation classes and tutors still keep the playing field from being level, this is a step in the right direction.
By Matilda Kreider
For those juniors who had been dreading taking the state’s new Smarter Balance Assessment (SBA), Governor Dannel Malloy brought some good news recently: the state dropped SBA and plans instead to use the SAT as an evaluative test.
Perhaps most exciting is that the SAT will be free for all Connecticut juniors. This change will benefit Connecticut students by reducing the amount of time spent on testing each year and by leveling the playing field when it comes to college preparation.
The SAT is undergoing a redesign itself and a new version of it will be rolled out in January.
Standardized testing is a big burden on students who are already stressed and over-worked. Most juniors in high school who are looking at colleges or thinking about future plans want to learn things that are relevant to their success and focus on AP tests and the SAT; they do not want to take tests that have no effect on their transcript and serve only to help the state evaluate them.
Junior Andy Salerno is “very grateful” to have the SBA replaced with a “more accessible SAT”. When asked about the change, he said “I think it’s a great opportunity for us. I believe that standardized tests [like the SBA] don’t necessarily benefit us and aren’t needed in school.”
Last year’s SBA results showed that very, very few students scored well on the test, most likely because the majority of students chose not to take the testing seriously. Less than 20 percent of 11th graders met or exceeded minimum standards in math. In English language arts, 35 percent met or exceeded minimum standards. This week students began getting letters mailed home with their individual SBA results.
Some students, including senior Lily Kirby, found the test format frustrating. She voiced that she “found the format of the SBA to be difficult and confusing to work with,” pointing out specifically, “the passages seemed excessively long for the types of questions being asked.”
Other seniors who took the test found that the questions were unlike anything they saw on a daily basis and that some sections required specific knowledge rather than testing problem-solving or logic skills. Luckily for this year’s juniors, they will not have to deal with a test that is so far from what they have learned.
The state worked with the College Board, which produces the SAT, to create a test that reflects what Connecticut students are learning in the classroom rather than the universal SAT most students in the U.S. take.
Being able to take the SAT for free and during school may give many students opportunities they wouldn’t have had in the past. In the past, 85% of Connecticut students have paid the $50 or more it takes to take the test, but some students were limited in how many times they could take it because of the high price. This new policy is especially important in low-income school systems where students may be at a disadvantage compared to peers in higher-income communities.
Though better-funded schools and expensive SAT preparation classes and tutors still keep the playing field from being level, this is a step in the right direction.
I really enjoyed this article- very well written and informative!