The Smarter Balanced Assessment System includes comprehensive instructional tools, interim assessments, and end-of-year (summative) assessments that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English/Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. The tests are designed to provide academic achievement information about students, school districts, and states, and to measure students’ progress toward college and career readiness.
Watch our video to learn more about Mercer Publishing’s Smarter Balanced Assessment Test
The Smarter Balanced ELA and Mathematics summative assessments have two components, both of which are administered to every student. The first component is the Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) which includes both selected-response (e.g., multiple choice) and short answer items. A number of unique types of items are included on the CAT and students might be asked to answer a two-part question or complete a chart. The second part of the summative test is the Performance Task. Each end-of-year assessment includes one Performance Task.
Both the Smarter Balanced Assessment and the Iowa Assessments are designed to assess student performance in relation to the Common Core State Standards. Therefore, the content covered by the two tests is basically the same. Both tests include multiple choice items so practice on these types of items and on the content included in Mercers’ Iowa Assessment practice tests can be beneficial in preparing students for success. The practice tests can also help identify skill areas in which students require additional instruction or practice before attempting the Smarter Balanced summative assessment. Here is a list of subject areas for the Iowa Test.
Our Iowa Practice Tests begin at grade 3, because we believe that at grade levels K-2 it is more beneficial to focus on building cognitive skills rather than memorizing or learning specific concepts in reading or mathematics. Cognitive skills are focused on logic based questions using words, shapes and pictures. Early development and stimulation of cognitive skills has been shown to dramatically improve the speed at which assessment skills can be learned. A link to our cognitive practice tests can be found here: CogAT. We also highly recommend students read or are read to for at least 30 minutes a day. Developing early reading habits and practice is quite possibly the best determinant of future reading success.
For a more in-depth description of the Iowa Assessments exam, utilize our Frequently Asked Questions page to answer any questions you may still have or visit our Sample Questions page to see the types of questions in each section of the test.
The Smarter Balanced Assessment covers Reading/Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. The ELA portion of the test includes reading passages that are followed by a series of questions and items that assess a student’s listening skills.
Participating states usually administer the Smarter Balanced Assessment in grades 3-8 and one high school grade.
The assessments were first developed in 2010 by a consortium of states in response to federal requirements for statewide achievement testing and are typically administered to all students in the participating states.
The Smarter Balanced Assessment is given in the following states: Connecticut, California, Hawaii, Delaware, Indiana, Idaho, Montana, Michigan, Oregon, Nevada, U.S. Virgin Islands, South Dakota, and Washington.
School districts in participating states are required to use the summative, or end-of-year assessments, but may also choose to administer interim assessments that can be given throughout the school year. Because the test is used for accountability purposes it cannot be purchased, administered, or viewed by anyone except educators in the consortium states, however, educators in nonparticipating states can access some of the supporting materials.
Both the interim and summative assessments are administered completely online.
The term computer adaptive indicates that for each student the test provides a unique testing experience with items selected specifically to match a student’s academic achievement level. As a student works through the test, the computer algorithm selects additional items based on the student’s success or failure with previous items. This approach can shorten the testing time for some students and is believed to provide a more accurate assessment of student achievement.
Performance Tasks are composed of a set of questions centered on a real-world topic that measure capacities such as writing and research skills or complex analysis. Performance tasks require an extended response on the part of the student, for example, developing an essay or solving a multistep mathematics problem.
Computer skills are very helpful to students taking the Smarter Balanced Assessment. Because the test is given online, students benefit from practice developing essays and responding to test items using the computer. Keyboarding skills are helpful for students completing the writing portions of the test.
Interim assessments are administered over the course of the school year, allowing educators to monitor student progress toward end-of-year goals. The questions included on the interim assessments are similar to those on the summative assessment, but they are administered in a low-stakes environment. The interim assessments can be considered to be an educator tool and the results are not reported to the state.
The summative portion of the Smarter Balanced Assessment is administered each year in the spring and is considered a high stakes test because it is used for accountability purposes. School districts’ results are reported to their state education agency, regularly appear in state newspapers, and are typically shown on the state website as part of the state/school district public report card.
Smarter Balanced Assessment results are used to monitor student achievement in relation to the Common Core State Standards. School districts use the results of the test to identify strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in curriculum and instruction. Both school districts and the state report to results to parents and the community as a measure of accountability.
The Smarter Balanced Assessment exam covers the following 10 subject areas: Reading, Written Expression, Mathmatics-Concepts and Estimation, Science, Social Studies, Vocabulary, Spelling, Capitalization, Punctuation, and Mathmatics-Computation. At grades 3 and below two additional sections, Word Analysis and Listening, are also included in the exam.
In the Reading Section, students are given a passage to read followed by several questions about the passage. The student must read the passage and then answer the questions by selecting the answer that best answers the question from the choices provided.
Lucy was no ordinary girl. She had been born with a special gift, a gift other people considered to be unusual. When she was only 3 years old her parents noticed she had a special way with animals. She loved animals and the animals that she came into contact with were especially attracted to Lucy.
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In the Written Expression section, students are tested on their writing skills - sentence structure, grammar and usage, verb tense and punctuation.
There are two types of questions in this section. The first type of question is similar to the Reading Sections - students are given a passage to read followed by several questions about the passage. In this section, the passage contains numbers to identify sentences and underlined portions to identify words or short phrases within the passage. Students should select the answer that best answers the question.
Sample question (Type 1):
q My brother’s name is Jason. w He is 5 years old. e Jason likes to pretend he is a super hero. r He keeps a red cloak and a black mask under his bed. At any time, he might run to his room, scramble under his bed and grab them. t The next thing you know, Jason dressed like a super hero, dashing around the house in his shiny outfit, pretending he can fly!
Sample question (Type 2):
In the Mathematics-Concepts and Estimation section students will be given math problems that will test their understanding of numbers and math concepts. Some questions will include a picture or diagram that students must use to answer the question.
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In the Science section, each question is designed to test a student’s understanding of science. Students must choose the best answer for each question.
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In the Social Studies section, students are tested on their knowledge of social studies. The Social Studies section is divided into 4 sections, Civics/Government, Geography, History, and Economics.
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In the Vocabulary section, students are tested on their word knowledge. Each question has a short phrase with one word underlined. Students must determine which of the available answers has the same or almost the same meaning as the underlined word.
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In the Spelling section, students must look for words that are not spelled correctly. Each question will have four words and an option that says (No mistakes). If any of the first four words is misspelled, the student should mark the letter that corresponds to that word on the answer sheet. If none of the words are misspelled then the student should select the option that says (No mistakes).
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In the Capitalization section, students must look at a short passage and determine if there are any mistakes in capitalization. If the student finds an error in capitalization, they must mark the letter that corresponds to the line that has the capitalization error on the answer sheet. If the passage has no capitalization errors then the student should select the letter that corresponds to the line that says (No mistakes).
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In the Punctuation section, students must look at a short passage and determine if there are any mistakes in punctuation. If the student finds an error in punctuation, they must mark the letter that corresponds to the line that has the punctuation error on the answer sheet. If the passage has no capitalization errors then the student should select the letter that corresponds to the line that says (No mistakes).
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In the Computation section, students are given math problems to test their ability to compute equations. Each list of answers will include and answer choice that says “N”, which means the correct answer is not given.
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In the Word Analysis section, students will be given part of a word and a picture. The student will need to choose the answer that correctly fills in the blank section of the word.
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In the Listening section, an adult reads the story and question. They are designed to test a student’s listening skills. Parents or the test administrator will read the story that corresponds to each question. After the story is read the adult will ask a question about the story. The student must then select the correct picture that answers the question. They should then mark the letter that corresponds to that answer on their bubble sheet answer form.
Sample question (read by adult):
Jimmy loved to run races. He competed in many cross-country races and at the age of only 9 he won his first gold medal in a 5 mile race. His parents were proud of Jimmy, not just for winning, but for having such a passion for his sport.
Smarter Balanced® is a registered trademark of Regents of the University of California. Regents of the University of California was not involved in the production of, nor endorses, this practice test.