2015: ISAAP PROCESS AND TOOL HELPS STUDENTS ACCESS NEEDS

The Individual Student Assessment Accessibility Profile (ISAAP) addresses student access needs for the Smarter Balanced assessments. The ISAAP process includes preparatory steps, a step for creating the ISAAP itself, and steps that allow educators to check that Designated Supports and Accommodations are entered correctly into the test engine.

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2018: SMARTER BALANCED TESTS MEET FEDERAL PEER REVIEW FOR GRADES 3-8 AND HS

Photo from a July 31, 2018 4:40PM Education Week article titled "Smarter Balanced Common Core Test Gets Thumbs Up from the Feds" by Stephen Sawchuk, with image featuring a multiple choice test where the student scored an A+

Smarter Balanced members South Dakota and Nevada meet federal peer review requirements in grades 3-8 and high school. This designation means Smarter Balanced is one of two tests in the nation to meet all of the statutory and regulatory United States Department of Education peer review requirements for the general assessments in English language arts/literacy…

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2016: ALIGNMENT STUDIES VALIDATE QUALITY OF SUMMATIVE TESTS

Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) conduct extensive alignment studies in grades 5 and 8 and high school, respectively, to evaluate Smarter Balanced end-of-year tests against the high-quality assessment criteria created by the Council for Chief State School Officers. The two studies affirm Smarter Balanced tests are high quality, and…

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2017: Strategic Plan 2017-2022 Adopted

Cover of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Strategic Plan 2017-2022 adopted on October 18, 2017 and updated on October 31, 2019. The cover features three images including two photos of a teacher working with her students and a photo of a student in a graduation cap and gown.

Consortium members identified opportunities for Smarter Balanced to maintain the quality of its assessment system while also looking to innovate and evolve in response to a changing education landscape. These insights informed the development of the Strategic Plan 2017-2022.

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2014: Achievement Level Setting Design and Summative Test Blueprints Approved

Achievement level setting, or standard setting, is the process for establishing one or more threshold scores on an assessment, making it possible to create categories of performance. This served as the initial achievement levels for the math and English language arts/literacy assessments that were administered in 17 states and one territory during the 2014-2015 school…

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