Smarter Balanced Assessment

The Smarter Balanced assessments are aligned to what students are learning in the class. These tests serve as independent, objective measures of how students are doing and whether they are on track to master skills like problem solving and critical thinking that they will need to succeed after high school. Clear, understandable test scores help students, teachers, and parents work together to adjust their approach and better meet students’ needs. The Smarter Balanced assessments also provide data that we use to determine, for example, what’s working in special education, or whether race- or income-based achievement gaps continue to persist

Smarter Balanced assessments are designed to measure what students really know and can do, so they are an important tool to help students and parents better understand if kids are on track for success after high school. The assessments can show if a student needs extra help or accelerated learning opportunities. The ultimate goal is to ensure that students graduate with options and a foundation of skills and knowledge to pursue their goals.

Students who take Smarter Balanced assessments have access to additional resources:

• Students who score a level 3 or 4 in 11th grade can qualify for credit-bearing courses in college, so they can avoid remedial classes.
• Students who score a level 2 in 11th grade can take Bridge to College courses to give them the extra support they need to get ready for school or work after high school. These courses are offered at about 155 high schools around the state. Learn more by visiting the Bridge to College website

In Washington state, students must take the Smarter Balanced assessment in high school as part of their requirement to graduate. If they do not achieve at least a certain score on the English language arts and math tests, there are alternative pathways, such as achieving a certain score on college admissions or dual credit courses, earning dual credit, or passing approved locally-administered assessments.

Being college- and career-ready means that a high school graduate has the skills needed to qualify for and succeed in college credit-bearing courses and/or in the postsecondary job training necessary for their chosen career without the need for remedial coursework. Common Core helps ensure students are ready for either path.

Students’ Smarter Balanced scores will fall into one of four different levels. Students scoring a 4 are on track to be college- and career-ready and should be encouraged to enroll in dual credit courses in 11th and 12th grade, earning college credit while still in high school. Students who score a 3 are also on target to be college- and career-ready by the end of 12th grade. A score of a 1 or 2 does NOT disqualify a student from attending college. Students can reduce the time and expense of remediation by working hard during 12th grade and taking advantage of transition courses designed to get students on a path to college- and career-readiness. Students can use the Smarter Balanced scores to help prepare and plan so they can be successful throughout their education, including the often challenging transitions to high school and college.

Use the new Washington Test Guide for Parents to help you better understand your child's test score report. The online tool will provide you the information you need to help your child in school. 

Our learning standards help ensure students are college- and career-ready. The Smarter Balanced assessments help teachers and parents measure a student’s progress toward that goal. This timely information can help inform the student’s High School & Beyond Plan, which is designed to bring parents/guardians, educators, and students together to develop the student’s personalized pathway toward college- and career-readiness. Each student maintains a plan that outlines education and career goals, and the courses, exams, and experiences necessary to get them there. 

To help students transition to college and career pathways, teams of Washington state K-12 teachers and higher education faculty are doing the following:

• Collaboratively developing and piloting transition courses: Bridge to College Mathematics and Bridge to College English Language Arts. These transition courses will be offered to high school seniors who need additional help to prepare for entering and being successful in college. Multiple school districts across the state are piloting the courses in 2014-15. Based on outcomes from the pilot courses, they will be revised during summer 2015 and scaled broadly across the state beginning in 2015-16.
• Colleges of Education are incorporating the Common Core State Standards in preservice teacher education and in-service professional development programs.
• The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is creating a Digital Library of resources and offering professional learning opportunities to teachers of all grades.