Smarter Updates

Learn more about Smarter Balanced’s latest assessment resources and releases, and updates around supports available to schools, districts, and member states.

Smarter Balanced, MetaMetrics Partner to Provide More Specific Info About Students’ Reading Abilities

Smarter Balanced and MetaMetrics, developer of the Lexile Framework for Reading and Quantile Framework for Mathematics, collaborated to link the Smarter Balanced assessment system to the Lexile and Quantile Frameworks. This alignment provides the option for Smarter Balanced members to report a student’s reading ability as a Lexile measure and his or her mathematical ability as a Quantile measure. By reporting Lexile…

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National Evaluations Again Confirm Quality and Alignment of Smarter Balanced End-of-Year Test

Two more external evaluations have declared Smarter Balanced to be a high-quality test strongly aligned with the Common Core State Standards. The Smarter Balanced high school test received the highest possible ratings. The extensive alignment studies—conducted in grades 5 and 8 by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and in high school by the Human Resources…

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Nation’s Best Teachers Say Smarter Balanced Is Dramatically Better than Old State Tests

The nation’s best teachers said they believe using the Smarter Balanced assessment system puts students on a better trajectory than previous state tests, according to a report issued today. Working in conjunction with EducationCounsel, the National Network of State Teachers of the Year reviewed several end-of-year assessments and compared them to Smarter Balanced. The reviewers…

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Multiracial group of six friends taking a selfie at graduation, in their black caps and gowns.

Smarter Scores for College

New collaboration between higher education and K–12 Across the country, Smarter Balanced states have been notifying high schoolers and their parents how they can use their Smarter Balanced test scores for college. The basic message: high school students who take the test in 11th grade now have an opportunity to jumpstart their college coursework and…

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Close to 200 Colleges and Universities to Use Smarter Balanced Scores as Part of Placement

April 15, 2015 — High school students who take the Smarter Balanced exam in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington could enter postsecondary institutions and directly enroll in credit bearing courses. Colleges and universities in these six states will use the high school score as evidence that students are ready for entry-level, credit-bearing courses…

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