Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA)

About the SBA

The Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) in Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA) are aligned to the Hawaii Common Core Standards, and designed to measure whether students are "on track" for readiness in college and/or career. These are mandatory assessments given to students in grades 3-8 and grade 11.

At Kapalama, all students in Grades 3-5 will have one opportunity taking the SBA online around April/May. Students are taking the reading and mathematics assessments to measure their achievement of their grade level standards.

Grade 5 students will also take their Hawaii State Assessment (HSA) Science assessment online. Only the highest score (out of 2 tries) is kept for each student’s official record.

How to Help Your Child Do Well on the Test

Here are some things parents and families can do to make sure that the child is ready for a test:

• • REST:  A good night’s sleep before the test helps your child do his/her best on a test; make sure that your child does not go to bed angry or upset.

  • PREPARE:  Get up early enough to avoid rushing; let your child dress comfortably and arrive at school early enough to relax before the testing period begins.

  • EAT:  Make sure your child has a good breakfast on the morning of the test.  Test taking uses a lot of energy. Our cafeteria serves breakfast between 7:15-7:50 am daily.

  • LISTEN:  Remind your child to listen carefully to instructions that are given for the test and follow them exactly.  If instructions are not clear, remind your child to ask the teacher to repeat them or explain the instructions again.

  • TRY:  Encourage your child to do his/her best; even if the questions seem hard, to keep trying and don’t give up; let your child know that test can be hard, but that taking test gives him/her a chance to show how much he/she can do.  The tests help teachers understand what your child needs to learn. Remind your child that he or she is not expected to know the answer to every question.

REMEMBER:  

BE POSITIVE and ENCOURAGING.  Let your child know that you are supporting his/her efforts on the tests.  STUDENTS WHO ARE CALM AND SURE OF THEMSELVES DO BETTER ON TESTS.

For more information, visit the Hawaii DOE website: Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA)