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4.) Retrieving and understanding Interim Comprehensive Assessment (ICA) and the Interim Assessment Block (IAB) Results

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4.) Retrieving and understanding Interim Comprehensive Assessment (ICA) and the Interim Assessment Block (IAB) Results

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Information for retrieving and understanding student Interim Assessment Results

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3.) Administering the Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICAs) and the Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs)

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3.) Administering the Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICAs) and the Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs)

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Information for Administering an Interim Assessment

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Information regarding how to start an interim test session

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2.) Setting-up the Interim Assessment Reporting System

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2.) Setting-up the Interim Assessment Reporting System

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Information on how to Navigate the Interim Assessment Reporting System and provide access to the Interim Assessment results

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1.) Understanding the Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICAs) and the Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs)

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1.) Understanding the Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICAs) and the Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs)

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Information regarding the purpose, structure, and content of the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments

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Quick Start Guide

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Quick Start Guide

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Assists with understanding the student score reports and analyzing student results....including Item-Level Analysis

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Using the Interim Assessments to support Teaching and Learning throughout the Year

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Using the Interim Assessments to support Teaching and Learning throughout the Year

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2018-19 Interim Assessment Report Features

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2018-19 Interim Assessment Report Features

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Newsflash

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New Interim Assessment Reporting System.pdf

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Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment FAQs

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Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment FAQs

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General Questions

What are the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments?

The interim assessments are one of the three components of the Smarter Balanced assessment system, which includes summative assessments, interim assessments, and formative assessment resources available in Tools for Teachers. The interim assessments are available for English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics in grades 3-8 and high school and are available to all California local educational agencies (LEAs) to support teaching and learning throughout the school year. Interim assessments are optional resources that provide teachers with actionable information about student progress, and are designed to be given at locally-determined points during the school year. The interim assessments can help teachers, students, and parents gauge student progress toward college and career readiness, and identify strengths and areas for remediation in relation to the Common Core State Standards.

Two types of interim assessments are available: interim comprehensive assessments (ICAs), and interim assessment blocks (IABs). ICAs mirror the summative assessment in scope and format, while IABs focus on smaller sets of related concepts and provide more detailed information for instructional purposes. For further information on the interim assessments, including a listing of available IABs, go to the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Overview (PDF) .

Access and Availability

Is there a local educational agency cost associated with the interim assessments?

The cost to access the interim assessments is covered by the California Department of Education's membership fees for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. The state legislature voted to fund Tools for Teachers and the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments to provide equal access to support materials for all California public school educators. All ICAs and some IABs have items that require hand scoring, and costs associated with hand scoring are the responsibility of the LEA.

Administration

Are interim assessments available for students at every grade level?

The interim assessments were developed for students in grades three through eight and high school, but may be administered to students at any grade level. The available ICAs and IABs can be found by looking under "Related Resources" on the CDE Interim Assessments web page.

Scoring and Reporting

1. How are interim assessments scored?

Computer-based questions are machine scored by the Smarter Balanced Test Delivery Engine. Constructed-response questions, including performance tasks, must be hand scored by LEA staff. All ICAs have items that require hand-scoring. There are, however, IABs (including many of the focused IABs) that do not require hand scoring. To view which interim assessments require hand scoring, please see the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments by Grade (PDF) . Further information about hand scoring is available in the Interim Assessment Hand-Scoring video module.

2. How soon after testing is complete are interim assessment results available to K-12 educators?

Student results are generally available in the California Educator Reporting System within 20 minutes after the tests are submitted and all hand scoring (if needed) has been completed. All hand scoring requirements must be completed to view results.

3. What information do the interim assessment reports provide?

The ICA reports include the same information as the summative assessment reports. They include an overall scale score, an achievement level, and claim-level information. The claims reported for ELA are: reading, writing, listening, and research and inquiry. The claims reported for mathematics are: concepts and procedures, problem solving, communicating reasoning, and modeling and data analysis. Student overall achievement scores are reported in four performance levels: "Standard Exceeded," "Standard Met," "Standard Nearly Met," and "Standard Not Met." Student achievement by claim is reported in three reporting categories, "Above Standard," "Near Standard," and "Below Standard."

The IAB reports focus on a smaller set of skills and are designed to provide information about student performance on a related set of standards. IAB results are reported based on three classifications: "Below Standard," "Near Standard," and "Above Standard."

Questions: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress Office | caaspp@cde.ca.gov | 916-445-8765

Last Reviewed: Wednesday, August 04, 2021

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Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment FAQs

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General Questions What are the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments? The interim assessments are one of the three components of the Smarter Balanced assessment system, which includes summative assessments, interim assessments, and formative assessment resources available in Tools for Teachers.

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California Department of Education

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The Smarter Balanced assessment system has three components: the summative assessments, designed for accountability purposes; interim assessments, designed to support teaching and learning throughout the year; and Tools for Teachers, designed to support classroom-based formative assessment processes. The Smarter Balanced Assessment Graphic (PDF) displays the relationship between these components, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and college and career readiness.

Pursuant to California Education Code Section 60642.6, interim assessments are available to all local educational agencies (LEAs). The Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments for English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics are optional tests that provide meaningful information to guide instruction and support student learning.

There are three types of Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments:

Interim Comprehensive Assessment (ICAs) are built on the same blueprints as the summative assessments. The ICAs include the same item types and formats, including performance tasks, as the summative assessments, and yield results on the same vertical scale. The ICAs yield overall scale scores, overall performance level designations, and claim-level information.

2023-24 Interim Comprehensive Assessments Blueprints:

Interim Comprehensive Assessments Blueprint for ELA (PDF)
Interim Comprehensive Assessments Blueprint for Mathematics (PDF)

Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) focus on smaller sets of targets than ICAs. They are intended to provide educators the ability to check where students are at that moment in time, and use results to determine next steps for instruction.

2023-24 Interim Assessment Blocks Blueprints:

Interim Assessment Blocks Blueprint for ELA (PDF)
Interim Assessment Blocks Blueprint for Mathematics (PDF)

Focused IABs assess no more than three assessment targets to provide educators with an even more detailed understanding of student learning.

2023-24 Focused Interim Assessment Blocks Blueprints:

Focused Interim Assessment Blocks Blueprint for ELA (PDF)
Focused Interim Assessment Blocks Blueprint for Mathematics (PDF)

For further information on the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments, please refer to the related resources, online tools, and frequently asked questions below:

Related Resources

2023-24 Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments Overview (PDF) - This document describes the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments, including their purpose, use, and varieties. For ELA and mathematics, this document provides a list of interim assessments available for the 2023-24 school year.

2023-24 Interim Assessments At-a-Glance (PDF) - This document lists, by grade level, all available interim assessments.

2023-24 Interim Assessments by Grade (PDF) - This document provides a list of all interim assessments available by grade, including the claims and targets, total number of items, and the number of items that are hand scored. This information is intended to assist LEAs in planning for the administration and local hand scoring of the interim assessments.

2023-24 Back to School Assessment Playbook (PDF; 15-Aug-2023) - This document describes how educators can use Smarter Balanced resources, such as Tools for Teachers and interim assessments, to support high-quality instruction using the formative assessment process.

Interim Assessment Fact Sheet (PDF)

Smarter Balanced Training Tests, Practice Tests, and Interim Assessments At-a-Glance (PDF)

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.

Tools for Teachers Interim Connections Playlists Flyer (PDF) - This flyer describes the Tools for Teachers Interim Connections Playlists of instructional resources that can be used to support teaching and learning with the use of Interim Assessment Blocks.

Online Tools

Smarter Content Explorer - This user-friendly web tool combines the information provided in the Smarter Balanced Content and Item Specifications-key resources used in test and item development-into an easy-to-use search interface. This tool can help teachers better understand how test questions are designed to provide evidence of what students know and can do.

Sample Items Website - Explore sample test questions to understand how Smarter Balanced measures college and career ready content.

The California Educator Reporting System (CERS) Sandbox -The California Educator Reporting System Sandbox is a non-secure training and demonstration environment that uses fictitious computer-generated data.

The Smarter Annotated Response Tool (PDF; 20-Nov-2020) -The Smarter Annotated Response Tool helps educators understand how student writing is scored on the Smarter Balanced assessments and supports writing instruction in the classroom. View the Getting Started with SmART video for more information.

Tools for Teachers (Account required for full access) - The formative assessment component of the Smarter Balanced assessment system. This website features educator created lessons, activities, strategies and professional development, with a focus on using the formative assessment process during instruction in the classroom. There are two resources available to anyone on the landing page, but full access to this website requires an account. LEA staff members may get a Tools for Teachers account either through self-registration or through their LEA California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) coordinator. View theSmarter Balanced Tools for Teachers video for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress Office | caaspp@cde.ca.gov | 916-445-8765

Last Reviewed: Friday, September 22, 2023

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The progress monitoring component of the Smarter Balanced Assessment System.

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Interim Assessment Blocks (IAB) Total Number of Items and Hand Scoring Requirements by Subject and Grade.

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Interim Assessment Blocks (IAB) Total Number of Items and Hand Scoring Requirements by Subject and Grade.

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Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Blocks - California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System (CA Dept of Education)

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Total Number of Items and hand scoring Requirements by Grade and Subject.

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Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICA) Total Number of Items and Hand Scoring Requirements by Subject and Grade.

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Interim Comprehensive Assessments (ICA) Total Number of Items and Hand Scoring Requirements by Subject and Grade.

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Smarter Balanced Interim Comprehensive Assessments - California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System (CA Dept of Education)

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Total Number of Items and Hand Scoring Requirements by Subject and Grade.

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Video Tutorial

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Smarter Balanced Reporting System (New Features)

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Video Tutorial

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Module 4: Interim Assessment Hand Scoring

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Video Tutorial

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Module 3: Interim Assessment Administration

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Video Tutorial

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Module 2: The Interim Assessment Viewing System

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Introducing the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments

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Introducing the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments

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Module 1: Introducing the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments

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Assigning User Roles in ART and Managing Student Groups in the Reporting System

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Assigning User Roles in ART and Managing Student Groups in the Reporting System

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ETS 14FEB2018: Assigning User Roles (Pt. 1) and Managing Student Groups in the Reporting System (Pt.2)

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This is "ETS 14FEB2018: Assigning User Roles (Pt. 1) and Managing Student Groups in the Reporting System (Pt.2)" by Red Dog Records on Vimeo, the home...

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CAASPP.org

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The Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments are currently available to be administered remotely, using either the secure browser or the web-based Student Testing Interface , in a Chrome, Firefox, or Edge web browser. If the interim assessments are being administered in person, students must use the secure browser.

These resources support the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments

User Guides

Instructions

Training Videos

Asynchronous Hand Scoring Learning Modules

These asynchronous learning modules guide educators on how to hand score the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment performance tasks for English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA) and mathematics. The asynchronous learning modules can be accessed on the following web pages:

Flyers

Additional Resources

Last Reviewed: August 2, 2022

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The Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments are currently available to be administered remotely, using either the secure browser or the web-based Student Testing Interface , in a Chrome, Firefox, or Edge web browser. If the interim assessments are being administered in person, students must use the secure browser.