SBAC Interim Assessments

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) helps support Common Core State Standards implementation through two optional resources:

• The Digital Library is an online collection of resources aligned to the Common Core State Standards that support K–12 teachers using formative assessment processes to adjust teaching and improve student learning.
• Interim Assessments are designed to support teaching and learning throughout the school year. They are flexible and designed to provide actionable feedback for educators.

Interim Assessments

There are two types of Interim Assessments:

• Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICAs) are built on the same blueprints as the Summative Assessments and assess the same range of standards. Initially, they are being administered in a fixed-form format, but they’ll change to an adaptive format when more items become available. The ICAs include the same item types and formats as the Summative Assessments, including performance tasks, and yield results on the same vertical scale. The ICAs provide overall scale scores, overall performance level designations, and claim-level information.
• Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) focus on smaller sets of targets and provide more detailed information for instructional purposes. The blocks are initially available as fixed forms and will build out to include a computer adaptive algorithm when more items become available. The IABs yield overall information for each block.

Key Features

• Assessments are accessible in grades K–12.
• At the high school level, the assessments are consistent with the grade 11 summative assessment and can be administered in grades 9, 10, 11, and/or 12.
• Assessments are optional, not secure, and frequency of use is a local decision.
• Test items were developed under the same conditions, protocols, and review procedures as those used in the summative assessments.

Interim Assessment Block Blueprints

• Interim Assessment Block Blueprints for ELA (PDF)
• Interim Assessment Block Blueprints for Mathematics (PDF)

Related Resources

• Interim Assessment Video Series – This series consists of five video modules intended to help educators effectively use the interim assessment systems and tools that are needed to select, administer, hand score, view and use results from the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments.
• Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Statement of Purpose (PDF) – This is an eleven page Smarter Balanced document that describes the purpose of the interim assessments and provides a comprehensive overview of the interim assessments.
• Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, Interim Assessments This is a link to the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments Web page.

Educator Interim Assessment Previewing
SBAC has created an interface that provides educators with a preview of Interim Assessment Tests. Please note that to log on and view the tests, users need a Test Operations Management System (TOMS) account. This web-based resource is accessed from Test Administrator Resources for Interim Assessments web page.

Contact

• Lyndsey Munn, Academic Coordinator
  (707) 778-4813,