The more I learn about 'Smarter Balanced Assessments' ...

... The more I know it's a set of stupid corporations behind it - all to gut the public school system -

"First off, the Common Core SBAC exam fails to test students on what they have been learning in Connecticut.  Instead the Common Core SBAC test is seeking to determine if students have reached a level that is about two grade levels above the present curriculum.

Second, and even more troubling, Governor Malloy’s administration approved Common Core SBAC pass/fail “cut scores” that are intentionally set to ensure that as many as six in ten children fail to meet goal in English and as many as seven in ten fail to reach goal in Math.

To repeat, the Common Core SBAC pass/fail rate is intentionally set to ensure that the vast majority of public school students are deemed failures, and making the situation even more unfair, the Common Core SBAC scheme particularly targets minority students, poor students, children who are not proficient in English and students with disabilities that require special education services."

https://jonathanpelto.com/2015/02/20/public-school-student-failure-common-core-sbac-test-says-probably-yes/

This sounds a lot like what's currently going on in my son's school. The staff have been more or less intimidating and bullying kids into taking the test under threat of 'summer school'.

Certainly not smarter.

Definitely not balanced.

And absolutely no valid form of assessment.