Maine Part of 31 State Consortium for Race to the Top Assessment

Idaho is a leader in the 31-state consortium that was awarded a $160 million Race to the Top Assessment grant to build the next generation of assessments.

SMARTER Balanced States

States in the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (as of June 17)

Alabama
Connecticut
Georgia
Idaho
Kansas
Maine
Missouri
Nevada
New Jersey
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
South Carolina
Utah
Washington
Wisconsin

Colorado
Delaware
Hawaii
Iowa
Kentucky
Michigan
Montana
New Hampshire
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Dakota
Vermont
West Virginia

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the grant award at a meeting of state educational leaders in Washington, D.C. today. The U.S. Department of Education awarded two federal Race to the Top Assessment grants: one to the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium and the other to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career.

Idaho is a governing state in the 31-state SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, which applied for the grant in June. Idaho's Deputy Superintendent of Assessment Dr. Carissa Miller has been elected to serve on the consortium's executive committee that will administer and oversee the four-year grant.

The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is a collection of states that have been working collaboratively since December 2009 to develop a student assessment system aligned to a common core of academic content standards to apply for a Race-to-the-Top Assessment grant. As of June 17, the Consortium comprises 31 states submitting the grant application to the U.S. Department of Education.

The U.S. Department of Education (USED) announced in April 2010 the opportunity for consortia of states to compete for special Race to the Top Assessment grants. USED may fund up to two consortia, for no more than $160 million each. The USED requirement is that a consortium funded under this grant opportunity will receive funding for four years (Oct 2010 through Sept 2014) to develop assessments that "are valid, support and inform instruction, provide accurate information about what students know and can do, and measure student achievement against standards designed to ensure that all students gain the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in college and the workplace."

SBAC will submit an application for a federal grant that would develop a student assessment system aligned to a common core of academic standards. Washington is the applicant state on behalf of the consortium.

http://www.k12.wa.us/SMARTER/