Planning and Designing Your Approach to Remote and Hybrid Teaching and Learning

• Tools for Teachers: Find activities and lesson plans to support the formative assessment process.
• Smarter Content Explorer: Use this site to learn how test items connect to academic standards.

Refer to Remote Learning and the Formative Assessment Process

Consider administering test questions to check student understanding, such as:

• Interim Assessment Item Portal (IAIP) (Available to educators provisioned for access)
• Interim Assessments (if a test administrator is available)
• A selection of items from Sample Items Website
  

Semi-secure items that states may choose to make available to their educators. The interim items are student- and teacher-facing only. This designation provides educators the flexibility to access the test questions and their students' responses to test questions. Before using the interim assessment items, educators should:

• Review the assessment items
• Look at the responses their students provided
• Project or display items to their students as part of the formative process
• Administer the interim assessment tests provided

Note:

• The interim items may not be emailed or printed into packets for distribution outside of a classroom.
• The interim items may not be copied or loaded into a third-party application that isn’t approved by the State Department of Education

Access to interim items is available through state-provided assessment portals.

The IAIP is a permission-based resource that authenticated educators can access via Tools for Teachers. The IAIP is intended for educators in member states who have purchased access to the Smarter Balanced interim assessments.

Educators may use the IAIP to view and select or deselect individual assessment items to tailor content covered by an interim assessment so it better aligns with the sequence of their instruction. Educators may use the IAIP in addition to the fixed form IABs, Focused IABs, and ICAs for remote and in-person instruction, as determined by the member state.

The test security considerations for interim assessments also apply to the IAIP.

When using the IAIP during remote instruction, teachers may display the interim items, directly from the application or as a downloaded PDF, using a web meeting software platform. The teacher may discuss the items with students to capture their responses verbally. The teacher may also use the chat feature set to allow students to send chats to the teacher (host) only. This will allow the teacher to view student responses and save them for later evaluation.

Note: Due to potential item security risks, the use of printed interim assessment items for paper-pencil administration and printed to paper scoring rubrics is limited to use during in-person instruction only.

Access IAIP via Tools for Teachers

A searchable website providing the content standards and assessment targets by grade and content area. Although the website is public, the language in the site assumes the reader has a background in education. With the Smarter Content Explorer, educators may:

• Search for specific content standards or assessment targets and see related standards or targets if applicable.
• Read evidence statements that help clarify the targets
• Find sample items aligned to the targets

Find scoring guidelines that include annotated student work associated with the English Language Arts/Literacy Full Write (Essays) and Math responses in which students describe their reasoning and problem solving.

Smarter Content Explorer

These released items measure the same content as the interim and summative assessment items. These items may be viewed by the public and used by teachers:

• If the copyright information for reading passages is displayed or printed with the passage; and
• if the copyright of the Regents of the University of California is associated with the item.

Note:

• If the copyright is clearly identified, the sample items may be emailed or printed and distributed outside of a classroom.
• Educators may share sample items with students in a PowerPoint presentation that is shared with students using a classroom management application (e.g., Google Classroom) under these conditions: 
  • Copyright information must be included on each slide that displays an item. 
  • The items will be used for the purpose of instruction and not for any type of commercial or for-profit use. 
  • The application used by the educator (e.g., Google Classroom) should be one that is approved by the LEA for use during remote instruction.

Sample Items Website

Educators may use the Smarter Annotated Response Tool (SmART) to better understand how student writing is scored on Smarter Balanced assessments and support writing instruction during in-person and remote instruction. Educators can browse a range of response types, explore interactive scoring rationales and rubrics. They may also create materials to share with students that illustrate strong examples of student writing as well as how to make revisions to improve the quality.

• The sample items and student responses may be viewed by the public and used by teachers:
  • If the copyright information for reading passages is displayed or printed with the passage; and
  • if the copyright of the Regents of the University of California is associated with the item.
• Educators may post the sample items and student responses in a PowerPoint presentation that is shared with students using a classroom management application (e.g., Google Classroom) under these conditions:
  • Copyright information must be included on each slide that displays an item.
  • The items will be used for the purpose of instruction and not for any type of commercial or for-profit use.
  • The application used by the educator (e.g., Google Classroom) should be one that is approved by the LEA for use during remote instruction.

Smarter Annotated Response Tool

Tests that are comprised of publicly released items. These tests are designed to provide students with the opportunity to interact with different item types and different accessibility resources. The practice tests may be useful as an activity or parceled into a set of activities as long as the copyright information is displayed or printed with the passage.

State Practice Tests

With the Smarter Item Catalogue, educators can learn about the content assessed by interim assessment items and publicly-released items, such as those on Sample Items Website and the Practice Test. Sort, filter, and search across item fields, including grade, subject, claim, and standard.

Smarter Item Catalogue