UC Regents Vote to Conduct Feasibility Study; Includes Smarter Balanced As Option
(Santa Clara, Calif., May 21, 2020) – The University of California Regents approved a college entrance exam proposal today, voting to suspend its current standardized test requirement (ACT and SAT) for undergraduate admissions until 2024. Starting this summer, UC will conduct a feasibility study, which includes whether to modify a current test, such as Smarter Balanced, as part of its…
Letter to The Editor: Response to Commentary in Education Week
Testing Consortium Responds: ‘We Couldn’t Agree More’ Recently, Education Week published a commentary by Gregory Cizek, a professor of educational measurement and evaluation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The commentary, “The Widening Gulf Between Large-Scale and Summative Assessment,” focused on how Common Core State Standards have made it more difficult for…
We Are All In This Together (Remotely)
A Shout-Out to Smarter Balanced Performance Tasks Jamie Elliott-Delaney, Guest Blogger5th Grade TeacherAppoquinimink School DistrictMiddletown, Delaware Although I am a fifth grade teacher at heart, I have extreme love for any teacher who teaches grades K-5. The dedication, extreme multitasking, wearing of “several hats” daily, and the pure ability to be flexible in any given situation…
COVID-19 News, Resources, and Updates from Smarter Balanced States
COVID-19 is causing school closures, shifts to e-learning, and changes in testing schedules, creating unprecedented challenges for educators and families. Below, we’ve compiled links to national and Smarter Balanced members’ state information pages as a means to leverage knowledge across the consortium. NationalU.S. Department of Education COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”) Information and Resources for Schools and School PersonnelEducation…
Newly 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…
Making Sense of Test-taking by Touch
Smarter Balanced Braille Accommodations Give Visually Impaired Students the Opportunity to Demonstrate What They Know and Can Do, Equitably Braille is a nearly 200 year old, haptic (touch-based) system for reading and writing that has given millions of people with vision impairment the ability to more effectively access education and contribute to the literary canon….
Smarter 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…
Top 5 Instructional Resources Created by Educators, for Educators
NOTE: The Smarter Balanced Digital Library was decommissioned. Please visit Tools for Teachers, the new home for instructional resources and professional learning. Resources to Use in the Classroom for American Education Week (and All Year Long!) November 18-22 is American Education Week. Thank you to all the teachers who make a difference every day in the…
Top Ten Instructional Resources for the Scariest Week of the School Year
NOTE: The Smarter Balanced Digital Library was decommissioned. Please visit Tools for Teachers, the new home for instructional resources and professional learning. From Amontillado to Zombie, the Digital Library has you covered A-Z A round up of creepy, scary, monster-filled Smarter Balanced Digital Library Instructional Resources perfect for classroom use during Halloween week. “Monster” Capitalization Rules (ELA,…
Smarter Content Explorer: Easy-to-Use Tool for Educators
Smarter Content Explorer Website Shows How Smarter Balanced Assesses Academic Standards Smarter Content Explorer is now available! This easy-to-navigate Website helps teachers interpret student results by understanding the claims, targets, and standards that are being assessed. The new website includes information about what knowledge and skills are essential for college and career readiness. Teachers can…