Using the Smarter Balanced grade 11 summative assessment in college writing placement

Abstract

Abstract The Smarter Balanced grade 11 summative assessment is a career and college readiness assessment aligned with the Common Core State Standards. In addition to its use as a measure in the high school, over 200 colleges and universities in 10 states use the results of this assessment as part of a multiple measures approach for placement in writing and mathematics. Our focus in this review is on the assessment’s use in college and university writing placement. We discuss the writing constructs made evident in the assessment in addition to what is not measured in order to identify the possibilities and limitations of its use in college writing placement. We offer suggestions for future research into the consequential validity of the assessment.