Examples provide early look at next-generation assessments aligned to the Common Core OLYMPIA, Wash. — May 29, 2013 — Teachers, parents, and students across the country can now access online practice tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) today released sets of example test questions for grades [...]
Smarter Balanced participated in a Q&A with the Fordham Institute’s Common Core Watch blog. The article provides an in-depth look at the progress of developing next-generation assessments aligned to the Common Core, as well as detailed responses to questions on cost, technology, and the future of the Consortium.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — May 1, 2013 — The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) announced today that Brandt Redd is joining the Consortium as chief technology officer (CTO). As CTO, Redd will ensure that the Smarter Balanced assessment system is supported by a robust technology infrastructure. Redd was most recently a senior technology officer for education [...]
Alaska has joined the Consortium as an Advisory State. With the addition of Alaska, Smarter Balanced includes 26 member states and territories working collaboratively to develop a next-generation assessment system for English language arts/literacy and mathematics.
The Governing States of the Smarter Balanced voted to move forward with a key policy decision to ensure the assessments reflect the depth and rigor of the Common Core State Standards. In addition, the Consortium approved a motion to establish an affiliation with the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles to begin after the conclusion of the federal grant in 2014.
The U.S. Virgin Islands will become the first Affiliate member of the Consortium. The territory joins the 21 Governing States and three Advisory States collaborating to develop a next-generation assessment system for English language arts/literacy and mathematics aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
Smarter Balanced will host a conference to discuss the Consortium’s progress towards design and implementation of the next-generation assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
The Consortium announced the award of a contract to develop a Digital Library of formative assessment practices and professional learning resources for educators. Amplify Insight, formerly known as Wireless Generation, will work with Consortium member states and teachers to create professional development materials and instructional resources aligned to the Common Core State Standards and the Smarter Balanced assessment system.
Members of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium are administering a Pilot Test of the assessment system in schools across the country. The Pilot Test is the first of two large-scale tryouts of the assessments prior to implementation in the 2014-15 school year. Through the Pilot Test, Smarter Balanced will gather information about the performance of assessment items and the test delivery system under real-world conditions.
Governing States elected Deborah Sigman, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction for the California Department of Education, Executive Committee Co-Chair. Along with Joseph Martineau, Ph.D., Sigman will oversee the work of the Executive Committee and collaborate with Consortium staff, leadership, and advisory committees.