The Importance of SBAC Tests

Students at Camas High School (CHS) have been taking the Washington State Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) for the past week, but many wonder what exactly the SBAC test is. 

“It’s a state standardized test, [and] in Washington state all schools are required to do SBAC. It is an English test, a math test, and the WCAS science test. Those are the three state tests that we are required to administer,” said Senior Associate Principal Seanna Pitassi.

 One of the most common questions about the SBAC state test is what the results of the test are used for. 

“It helps the state determine how well different schools are doing and those test results get uploaded to the Washington state report card system. So our test results get uploaded there and you can compare how well Camas High School is doing to other schools in Washington state,” said Pitassi. 

Many students at CHS are confused as to why SBAC is still used in high schools across Washington State and why the test is administered in tenth, but not ninth grade. 

“…When you’re in tenth grade, you’ve taken or are taking the classes you need to know for the test, [which is why you take it during sophomore year]. It also is nice because if a student fails the test, we have plenty of time for them to retake the test their Junior or Senior year,” said Pitassi. 

SBAC is known in the state of Washington for being a credit in high school and in order to achieve the credit you have to pass the three state tests. But besides the state requirement, SBAC is also used as a way to fix problems within the curriculum, as the results are used to see how well students are learning the material.

“It is a test we are required to administer and a partial graduation credit, so it is the easiest pathway to graduation. The other reason is, you know most research you going to find that supports it is to have those metrics that schools can look at from year to year to see how their kids are doing so the point is to have something that tells us how we are doing within our own school and also how we are doing compared to other schools,” said Pitassi.

One of the most common concerns that students have about the test is whether they will be able to graduate if they fail. “If you don’t pass the test, we will retest you your junior year, and then if you still don’t pass then you take it your senior year. But as well as retesting there are other pathways; doing the test isn’t the only option,” said Pitassi. All in all, the tests are supposed to be taken seriously but should not be a major stressor for students as there are several other pathways students can take besides the SBAC test.