Washington State Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Timelines & Calendar
- Practice and Training Tests are available to support student familiarity with the test format and tools.
- For information about the status of state tests, timelines, and administration windows, please visit the Timelines & Calendar page.
Contact Information
Smarter Balanced has three components that all public schools in Washington can access: A Tools for Teachers site with instructional and professional learning resources, interim assessments for use throughout the year, and an end-of-year summative assessment.
Educators need to work with their school and/or district staff to access interim assessments and resources and to administer summative assessments. DACs may email Assessment Analysts for technical help with assigning educator roles for interim and summative assessments.
- Tools for Teachers
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1. Tools for Teachers contains classroom activities, lessons, and professional development resources to help enhance instruction and support learning by helping educators implement the formative assessment process in their classrooms. Tools for Teachers also contains Connections Playlists that provide instructional next steps based on interim assessment results. A demonstration on how to use and navigate Tools for Teachers is available on the Smarter Balanced channel.
Access to Tools for Teachers is free for every public school district and ESD employee. Users such as faculty at institutions of higher education requiring access to the Tools for Teachers site can contact OSPI via the Tools for Teachers email.
Public school district and ESD employees can access Tools for Teachers via the WCAP Portal using their existing TIDE account. If assistance is needed, contact your District Assessment Coordinator (DAC). DACs may email Assessment Analysts for technical help with educator access.
- Interim Assessments
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2. Interim assessments allow educators to administer questions similar to those on the state summative test in a low-stakes environment. Interim assessments also give educators access to students' answers and reasoning, potentially increasing the instructional usefulness of standardized test results. The interim assessments are student and teacher facing; they are not for public use, display, or distribution.
Learn more about the interim assessments through the Interim Assessment Overview document or by visiting Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments.
- Summative Assessments
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3. Summative assessments are one measure of students’ progress toward college and career readiness in English language arts/literacy and math. These assessments are given at the end of the school year and consist of two parts: a computer adaptive test and a performance task.
Visit the WCAP Portal for more information on Smarter Balanced assessments.
The following documents provide specific information about 10th grade testing.