Governor Puts Hold on Smarter Balanced Assessment

During the December regional and Central Support meetings, staff heard updates about the Smarter Balanced Assessment system and how schools and AEAs have been gearing up for the implementation of the system in the 2017-18 school year.

Last week Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise notified districts and AEAs regarding the status of the Smarter Balanced Assessments:



“Iowa legislators have clearly signaled interest in further discussing the future of statewide assessments. Accordingly, the Governor’s office has asked the Iowa Department of Education to put implementation of the Smarter Balanced Assessments on hold while the Legislature discusses this issue. This means that we will pause on the creation, identification, and delivery of professional learning, resources and materials to implement the Smarter Balanced Assessments.”



Based on this new information, Heartland AEA will not be providing the overview on Smarter Balanced in districts until we receive further direction from the Iowa Department of Education and the Governor’s office. This means that Heartland AEA staff won’t need to attend trainings at this time. We will update you as we learn more information. Contact your regional director if you have any questions.