Posts by nwilkins
Ten Smarter Tools for Ten Years
Smarter Balanced Celebrates a Decade of Supporting Educators Building web-based applications to support teaching has been part of Smarter Balanced’s mission from the beginning. We heard loud and clear that high-quality assessment requires equally high-quality support in the classroom to ensure student learning goals are aligned with state academic standards. The challenging work of teaching…
Read MoreCelebrating 10 Years of Collaboration
Smarter Balanced Honors Consortium Members and Educators for their Dedication to Developing High-Quality Measurement Tools and Instructional Supports Thank you, educators! As we celebrate Smarter Balanced’s 10th anniversary, we honor your work and the collaboration of hundreds of educators to build a fair, accurate system to measure what our students know and can do. And…
Read MoreSmarter Balanced Launches Tools for Teachers
Created by Educators, Website Provides Lessons and Activities to Support Instruction Educators can use Tools for Teachers to find trusted lessons and activities that they can use flexibly for remote or in-person instruction. The website was developed with a commitment to accessibility, making it easy for educators to find strategies that support diverse learners. Tools…
Read MoreNewly Released Sample Questions Can Help Support Instruction
The Smarter Balanced Sample Items Website now includes 104 newly released test questions that previously appeared on the year-end (summative) math and English language arts tests in grades 3-8 and high school. Educators can use the sample test questions to better understand how Smarter Balanced measures college and career ready content and what students need to know and do. The newly released questions add to the nearly…
Read MoreSmarter Balanced Year in Review 2019
Supporting Educators and Students at a Whole New Level This was a busy year—and decade—at Smarter Balanced! We’ll ring out the “teens” invigorated by our commitment to improving learning outcomes for students. And in June, we’ll celebrate our 10th anniversary, when states and territories banded together to develop our world-class assessment system. In 2019, we released a suite of…
Read MoreFive Built-in Test Tools Students Should Know (and Use!)
Familiarizing Students with Universal Test Tools Can Yield Confidence Boost Smarter Balanced digitally-delivered assessments (interims, the summative test, and practice tests) include a wide array of embedded universal test tools. These are available to students as part of the technology platform. Students gain confidence with the testing software when they understand how to use these…
Read MoreInterim Comprehensive Assessments (ICAs) Provide Early Detection of College and Career Readiness
Educators can now use ICAs more effectively in Grades 9 & 10 with the release of new cut scores Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICAs) — one component of the complete assessment system — allow teachers to check student progress toward college and career readiness throughout the year. With new cut scores, or achievement levels, in grades 9 and…
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