Using Google Docs to prepare students for Smarter Balanced Assessments

Posted by Majid Manzarpour

Jennifer Oliveira is a Google Certified Trainer who works at Del Mar Union School District in San Diego, California. She has over 18 years of experience in the education field and specializes in Google Apps & Chromebook deployments. You can find her on Google+ and the Google Apps Marketplace.

If you haven’t taken the opportunity to preview the Smarter Balanced Testing practice tests, now would be a good time. The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is one of the two nationally approved assessments aligned with Common Core, as well as being an adaptive assessment, suitable for all students including students with disabilities. 

"Although our new WI state test is called the 3-8 Grade Badger Exam, I am told the students need to have the following technology skills to be successful." Kathy Hoppe.

Last year, school districts around the country piloted the English Language Arts (ELA) and Math tests and this year schools will have another opportunity to preview the test. In our elementary district, we had classroom teachers logon to their grade level and see what the kids would see. Going through the third grade assessment as a teacher my initial thoughts were more self-conscious, “This is a third grade test. I can do this. I passed third grade.” As I worked through the test, my thoughts shifted to concern, whether our elementary students would be successful. I don’t have any doubts about whether or not they have the knowledge. It’s more about the format. For many us, transitioning to a computer adaptive assessment is new territory. Our students, and many students around the country, are used to multiple choice, pencil and paper exams and some students have had opportunity to complete a multiple choice assessment on a computer. 

The Smarter Balanced assessment asks students to use a variety of technology skills to respond to multiple formats of questions. Now, my thoughts shift yet again. Our students know how to be successful at this test, they just need some help connecting the dots. Using Google Apps in elementary schools can strengthen technology skills needed in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC).

How it looks in SBAC: (Image from SBAC Practice Test Portal)	How Google Docs can help: (Image from Google Apps for Education)
In the ELA portion of the test, some of the questions require students to highlight phrases as part of their answer. For example, students need to read passages, then choose by highlighting the correct answer. Sometimes they need to highlight two possible answers. (image from SBAC Practice Test Portal)	Students can practice highlighting phrases in their writing showing examples of certain writing strategies, vocabulary, or editing skills.
Both ELA and Math require dragging and dropping. In the ELA portion, students might need to rearrange sentences so the paragraph makes chronological sense. In the Math portion, students need to drag numbers to boxes to show missing measurements. Sometimes they need to drag numbers to create two-digit numbers (see example below).	Using Google Docs, students can practice moving sentences from one part of their writing to another by dragging and aligning the cursor with the new location. In Google Draw, students can create shapes and move them around the page to create an image.
In the Math portion, students might be asked to draw a line to divide a shape. (image from SBAC Practice Test Portal)	Using Google Draw, students can practice creating shapes with the line or shape tools.
In the Math portion, students are asked to devise an equation to match the area of a grid.	Using Sheets, students can format and outline cells to create shapes, then create matching equations for area or perimeter.
The ELA portion has some open-ended responses. In some instances, students are asked to revise an already created paragraph.	Using Google Docs, students can practice writing reading responses or brief explanations, comparisons, or opinions. Students can then share with a peer who can add or revise the writing.
The ELA portion has a few audio or visual components.	Using Slides, students can prepare presentations, then compose questions for peers to answer. For added fun, invite students to create hyperlinks to slides within the presentation to create a quiz.

Using Google Apps and other practical applications, students can enhance the technology skills needed to be successful on Smarter Balanced. They may not realize it they have the skills, we can help them make the connection.

from http://blog.synergyse.com/2014/03/using-google-docs-to-prepare-for.html