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Smarter Balanced Tools for Teachers
The Tools for Teachers is an easy-to-use website that features lessons and activities created by educators to enhance instruction, save time, and prepare students for college or a career. Tools for Teachers provides access to a variety of resources that teachers can use to support student learning. These resources include Lessons and activities that can help teachers reach ALL students. Meaningful descriptions of grade-level expectations to help teachers monitor progress between assessment events, and assessment strategies to help teachers identify where students are in their learning, where they are going, and how they will get there. The Tools for Teachers resources are available to district and charter educators with resources available for use in grades K-12.
Tools for Teachers Overview- Tools for Teachers Website - Requires Registration
- Video: Exploring the Tools for Teachers
Provides an introduction to the Smarter Balanced Tools for Teachers website. This video will provide site navigation tips along with possible ways educators can use the website. It will also take a deeper dive into Tools for Teachers' instructional resources and highlight the Formative Assessment Process (7:01 minutes)
- Tools for Teachers Introduction for Teachers
Takes users on a tour of the Tools for Teachers website and focuses on accessing, filtering and navigating, marking favorites, using the forum features, and describing the four attributes of the formative assessment process. This presentation is recommended for use during a staff meeting or professional development session. (19:52 minutes)
- Smarter Balanced Sample Items
This slide show is a recorded tour that is meant for anyone wanting to know more about the Digital Library's design features and professional learning resources. It includes three sample resources to demonstrate how to interact with the Digital Library. This overview is meant for educators, parents and guardians, school board members, and community representatives.
- Formative Assessment Process and its Attributes
- Formative Assessment webpage in Tools for Teachers
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Video: What the Formative Assessment Process is
This one-pager provides an overview of the attributes of the Formative Assessment (FA) process. This easy, eye catching summary of the FA attributes is ideal for sharing with educators, parents and guardians, school board members, and community representatives.
The Formative Assessment process is used by students and teachers during instruction to adjust teaching and learning strategies to reach their goals. This video explores what FA is, what it isn't, and why it is such a powerful tool for boosting learning outcomes.
Digital Library Webinars- Maximizing Resources of the SBAC Digital Library
Take a tour and receive a demonstration of the new Math, ELA and Assessment Literacy modules. Demonstrates online, CCSS-aligned resources created by educators.
- Spotlight Webinar and Forum Series
Provides an overview of the resource materials and highlights formative assessment strategies that can be used to support teaching and learning. Hosted by national experts and innovative practitioners in a variety of areas such as curriculum, English language development, and special education.
- Including All Students in Assessments of ELA and Mathematics – May 2016
- Illustrative Mathematics Series
- Investigating Grades 6 & 7 Ratio and Proportional Relationship Standards with Tile Pile
- Teaching High School Functions through Modeling Problems
- Exploring Mathematical Fluency in the Common Core State Standards
- Supporting Students with Disabilities
- Maximizing Access to Instruction and Testing for Students with Disabilities to Improve Achievement
- Opportunity to Learn for All Students: Enhancing Access to What Should be Taught and Will be Tested
- Understanding and Accelerating Achievement Growth for Students with Disabilities
- Using Learning Progressions to Formatively Assess Students’ Ability to Analyze Arguments Resource
- Using a Learning Progression to Formatively Assess the Concept of Slope Resource
- Developing Constructive Classroom Conversations in Grades K–2
- Focusing on Language to Support Middle School Math Argumentation
- Formative Assessment of Written Language in Grades 6–8
Additional Resources- Smarter Analytics
Includes an overview of using Smarter Analytics to guide instruction, webinars, and claim and target crosswalks for grades K-8.
- Digital Library Connections
Links student performance on the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) to resources in the Digital Library. Educators can use these connections to find relevant and useful instructional supports that are aligned to students’ needs. Created by expert educators in collaboration with Smarter Balanced, Digital Library Connections
- Video: Introducing the Smarter Balanced Digital Library
Provides a general introduction to the Digital Library with endorsements from California educators who are using formative assessment resources from the Digital Library. (Six Minutes)
- Quality Criteria for the Digital Library
Provides background on the development of the Quality Criteria for the Digital Library as well as an overview of the rating system used to review resources. In addition, Formative Assessment Practices/Transition to the Common Core Work Group members explain how State Leadership Teams and State Networks of Educators use the Quality Criteria to evaluate resources for the Digital Library. (33 Minutes)
For more information on connecting assessments to instruction, contact Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development at 302-735-4180
For technical inquiries regarding the Smarter assessment system, contact the Office of Assessment at 302-857-3391.
