Paper and pencil is old school
Via KRTV
Montana students will soon put down the pencils and log onto computers to take the new statewide standardized test called the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
Starting March 18, Montana students will join students from 26 other states in the Common Core Standards-aligned test called the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
Paper and pencil will be replaced by computer screens, but technology limitations for the Helena school district have administrators and teachers anxious about uncertainties.
Tests will be administered on desktops and laptops in rotating shifts in each school because of the limited amount of computers and bandwidth the district has available.
Each school’s schedule for testing will look a little different, particularly for those elementary schools without designated computer labs.
“Because the students, they’ll be sharing the mobile labs and really they have to look at how long mobile labs will stay plugged in and keep the battery life,” said Sara Loewen, the district’s Data & Assessment administrator.
And the length of testing sessions will vary by schools as well, “They may be testing students for one hour sessions, or 45-minute sessions in the morning and then again before lunch and then maybe in the afternoon depending on the amount of computers available in each school and the amount of students that have to go through,” she said.