Smarter Balanced Math Practice
Washington Smarter Balanced Assessment. Smarter Balanced is aligned to the Common Core State Standards for math, which Briveli covers comprehensively.
Spring (mid-March through early June, district-selected window)
Computer-adaptive
No calculator in grades 3-5. Grades 6-8 have the embedded SBAC calculator on the calculator-allowed CAT segment and the performance task (four-function in grade 6, scientific in grades 7-8).
Four achievement levels: Level 1 (Below Standard), Level 2 (Approaching Standard), Level 3 (Meets Standard), Level 4 (Exceeds Standard)
About the Smarter Balanced
Washington has administered the Smarter Balanced math summative — branded simply as the Washington Smarter Balanced Assessment, or SBA — to grades 3 through 8 plus grade 10 since 2014-15. OSPI uses the consortium's default CAT-plus-performance-task design and the 2000-3000 scale, with the Cambium TIDE platform delivering items in the same testing console used by Idaho, Hawaii, Nevada, and Oregon. Washington's high-school SBA is given in grade 10 (it serves as a graduation-pathway option), so the K-8 SBA is the load-bearing block for federal math accountability in elementary and middle school.
Washington keeps the SBAC default level labels (Below Standard, Approaching, Meets, Exceeds) and uses Level 3 (Meets) as the federal accountability bar. Aggregate results are published every fall on the OSPI Washington State Report Card (reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us), broken out by district, school, grade, and subgroup. Math testing typically runs 2.5 to 3 hours total. Note that WCAS — the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science — is a separate test for science only; SBA covers math and ELA, while WCAS handles grades 5, 8, and 11 science.
Official source: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/testing/state-testing/smarter-balanced-assessments
Practice by Grade
Smarter Balanced FAQ
Is WCAS the math test in Washington?+
No. WCAS — the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science — is the science-only test given in grades 5, 8, and 11. Math is the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) in grades 3-8 and grade 10.
Does the grade-10 SBA matter for graduation?+
Yes. Washington uses the grade-10 SBA in math as one of several graduation pathway options, so the high-school administration carries graduation stakes that the K-8 administrations do not.
Ready to practice for the Smarter Balanced?
Start a 14-day free trial. No commitment, cancel anytime before the trial ends.
Start your free trial