Center for Standards, Assessment, and Accountability

Grade Level: Elementary School (K-5)

Mathematics Summative Assessment Blueprint

The Mathematics Blueprint provides an overview to the types and content of items and tasks that will appear on the Smarter Balanced student test forms. The document starts with a blueprint overview, by claim, for each of grade levels 3-5, 6-8 and 11. Initial charts show the major content categories comprising each claim (for example, Concepts and Procedures), […]

Performance Tasks for English Language Arts

This presentation provides detailed performance task descriptions and examples that illustrate key performance task features that are an important part of the Smarter Balanced Assessment System. Performance tasks are designed for students to demonstrate their ability to think and reason and apply higher-order skills. In ELA performance tasks, a student reads research sources, responds to prompts, and writes […]

Practice and Training Resources

This resource site includes materials designed to acquaint users with the Smarter Balanced test platform and environment. The site includes: user guides classroom activity administration guidelines practice classroom activities scoring guides performance task writing rubrics ELA and math practice items, including Braille versions, and scoring guides are available on the resource page. Performance task writing rubrics for […]

Universal Design, Accessibility, Bias, and Sensitivity Considerations

Assessment items and tasks are designed to accurately evaluate students’ knowledge, skills, and abilities. The Smarter Balanced system of assessment has considered universal design, accessibility, bias, and sensitivity throughout the process of developing assessment items and tasks. In this presentation, viewers are provided with detailed information about: concepts of universal design and accessible assessment application of these concepts to Smarter […]

South Carolina STEAM Implementation Continuum

The purpose of the South Carolina STEAM Implementation Continuum is to provide statewide guidance and consistency with regard to STEAM implementation. To accomplish that purpose, the document sets forth a common language for STEAM implementation and establishes indicators in a continuum format that describe early or “Emerging” to model or “Practicing” STEAM schools or programs. […]

A Vision for Science Education in South Dakota

This resource is a presentation by the South Dakota Department of Education, given during the 2014 Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Annual Leadership Meeting, highlighting South Dakota’s STEM Education Model of Implementation Plan. It highlights preliminary academies for NGSS implementation, survey results, and action plans.