Iowa is a a member of Smarter Balanced. "The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) is a state-led consortium working to develop next-generation assessments that accurately measure student progress toward college- and career-readiness. Smarter Balanced is one of two multistate consortia awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Education in 2010 to develop an assessment system aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by the 2014-15 school year."  (see http://www.smarterbalanced.org/about/ for more details)

Therefore, be it resolved that Diana Gonzales, the Chief Academic Officer for the Iowa Board of Regents, will appear before the Senate on October 8, 2012, to update us on Smarter Balanced, UNI's role in setting the common core standards, and how the Smarter Balanced Assessment will affect students who apply to the Regents' universities in the future.