Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Wyoming and North Dakota Lock onto Smarter Balanced

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 08/05/13

Two states have switched their status within the Common Core online assessment consortium. Within the last month both Wyoming and North Dakota have shifted from being "advisory" to "governing" states in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. This new status means they'll be able to give input on the design of the assessment system under development and vote on fiscal and policy decisions.

The new additions bring the total number of governing states in Smarter Balanced to 23. Now, only Pennsylvania and Alaska retain advisory status. The consortium also has an affiliate member category, which applies to the United States Virgin Islands.

Advisory states can choose to be part of "work groups," which weigh in on item development, reporting, test administration, and other areas of assessment work. Affiliate members support the work of Smarter Balanced but haven't committed.

North Dakota's Department of Public Instruction made the switch in status in early July because the consortium was a "good fit" for the state, according to State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler. "The consortium includes a number of neighboring states with similar educational ideals" and offers opportunities for "future regional cooperation," the state said in a prepared statement.

"Our world is rapidly changing — career needs and educational practices are evolving to adapt to that changing world," Baesler said. "We look forward to this next step in helping our educational systems meet these needs, to continue to prepare North Dakota students to succeed in their careers and in college."

In April and May 2013 Wyoming students participated in Smarter Balanced's national scientific pilot, which provided the consortium with an opportunity to assess potential biases in the test and gauge assessment validity and reliability.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Businessman using laptop analyzing data and growth graph chart

    Report: AI Budgets in Education Show No Sign of Decline

    The vast majority of education organizations (98%) expect their AI infrastructure budgets to either increase or hold steady over the next year, according to a report from cloud storage provider Wasabi.

  • Wi-Fi icon on dark blue circuit background

    FCC to Conduct 'Top-to-Bottom' Review of E-Rate Program

    The FCC is laying the groundwork for a comprehensive review of its E-Rate program, the federal initiative that provides K–12 schools and public libraries with discounts on internet, WiFi, and telecommunications services to ensure equitable digital access.

  • interconnected nodes with currency symbols

    Report: Half of Gen AI Projects Could Exceed Budget by 2028

    Organizations may be underestimating the cost of generative AI as they move from experimentation to production, according to Gartner's "10 Best Practices for Optimizing Generative and Agentic AI Costs" report.

  • abstract data flow

    Google Announces New Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform

    Google Cloud has introduced a new platform for building and managing enterprise AI agents, as the company seeks to turn its Gemini models and Vertex AI tooling into a broader system for automating business workflows.