Smarter Balanced practice test 2027

The test in 2027

Who gives it

These states and the District of Columbia:

• California, as CAASPP
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia, as DC CAPE 2.0
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Indiana, whose test is ILEARN
• Michigan, whose test is M-STEP
• Nevada
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Washington

Who makes it

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, a member-led group of states; each member contracts its own test delivery.

When

Set by each state, usually March to June. Washington: online March 1 - June 25, 2027. Connecticut: March 22 - May 28, 2027. Idaho: March 8 - May 7, 2027. South Dakota: March 29 - May 7, 2027.

What it checks

Common Core State Standards (or each member's version of them).

How it’s taken

Taken on a computer. It’s adaptive: the questions get harder or easier depending on the answers so far.

Calculators

No calculator in grades 3-5. Grades 6-8 mix calculator and non-calculator items, given in separate segments.

What the math test looks like

The kinds of question on it:

• Multiple choice
• Multiple select
• Matching table
• Equation response (typed numeric answer or expression)
• Grid item (drag and drop, plotting)
• Table fill-in
• Short text response (explain reasoning)

How long it is:

• Every grade: About 35-40 questions on the full blueprint: Concepts and Procedures 17-20 (grades 3-5) or 16-20 (grades 6-8); Problem Solving with Modeling and Data Analysis 8-10; Communicating Reasoning 8-10 (those two together 18-20). One performance task of 4-6 items is included. The adjusted blueprint cuts the adaptive part by about half.

How math is reported

The Smarter Balanced tests report a child’s math in these categories. The practice sets here are marked by them too.

Every grade

• Claim 1: Concepts and Procedures
• Claim 2: Problem Solving
• Claim 3: Communicating Reasoning
• Claim 4: Modeling and Data Analysis

Scores and results

A scale score from about 2000 to 3000 that rises across grades, plus a level. Level 3 starts at 2436 (grade 3), 2485 (4), 2528 (5), 2552 (6), 2567 (7) and 2586 (8) in math. Claims 2 and 4 are reported together, so math has three claim scores. States give the levels their own names.

The levels, lowest first:

1. Level 1
2. Level 2
3. Level 3
4. Level 4

When results come: Set by each state.

What’s changing

The District of Columbia joined on October 15, 2025 and gives DC CAPE 2.0, built on Smarter Balanced content, for the first time in spring 2027. Indiana and Michigan are listed as members but their tests keep their own names (ILEARN, M-STEP). The US Virgin Islands is also a member.

Official practice

We haven’t found an official practice test to link to yet. Your child’s school can tell you where the state’s own practice is.

The sets here aren’t real Smarter Balanced questions: Thena writes every one in code, in the style of the test, and never copies a state’s own.

Where these facts come from

Checked on November 3, 2026, on these pages. Anything this page leaves out, we couldn’t yet confirm on the state’s own pages: they have the latest.

• portal.smarterbalanced.org: portal.smarterbalanced.org/knowledge-base/how-many-members-are-part-of-the-smarter-balanced-consortium
• smarterbalanced.org: smarterbalanced.org/?p=4708
• smarterbalanced.org: smarterbalanced.org/our-system/scores/
• technicalreports.smarterbalanced.org: technicalreports.smarterbalanced.org/2022-23_summative-report/_book/test-design.html
• portal.smarterbalanced.org: portal.smarterbalanced.org/library/en/mathematics-summative-assessment-blueprint.pdf
• ospi.k12.wa.us: ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/testing/state-testing-timelines-calendar
• portal.ct.gov: portal.ct.gov/sde/student-assessment/main-assessment/student-assessment/summative-assessment---end-of-year
• sde.idaho.gov: sde.idaho.gov/about-us/departments/assessment-accountability/idaho-standards-achievement-test-isat/
• doe.sd.gov: doe.sd.gov/assessment/