Grade 6-SBA Claim 1 Example Stems - Mathematics Assessment Item Stems

Oct 3, 2026

Document compiles and edits publicly available Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) Mathematics Claim 1 item specifications into practical example stems for Grade 6 teachers. It explains the SBA evidence-centered design, the four Claims, and that Claim 1 focuses on concepts and procedures. Targets align with Common Core clusters and use emphasis markers [m], [a], and [s]. Then it provides sample items across ratio and proportional relationships, including multiple-choice (multiple correct), fill-in tables, equation/numeric responses, and graphing tasks with rubrics and response types.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Claim 1 Overview

SBA evidence-based design and Claims

Claim 1 focus and target structure

Ratio and Proportional Relationships

Target A and example stems

Response types and rubrics

Grade 6-SBA Claim 1 Example Stems This document takes publicly available information about the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) in Mathematics, namely the Claim 1 Item Specifications, and combines and edits them down to hopefully be more useful for teachers and others. The SBA Consortium is not involved in producing this document, so editing choices do not reflect any guidance from the SBA Consortium . The SBA uses evidence based design, viewing the assessment as eliciting evidence of student proficiency. That evidence is meant to support Claims, which in math are (to paraphrase): 1. A student understands concepts and can perform procedures. 2. A student can solve problems. 3. A student can reason (and critique the reasoning of others) . 4. A student can analyze and model real-world contexts using mathematics. These claims will be assessed in a roughly 40%-20%-20%-20% split. Given that previous assessments would heavily focus on procedures, while in this framework they constitute 20% as a focus (though of course are needed for items across all claims), this represents a significant shift in assessment. This document only looks at Claim 1 about concepts and procedures. Items written for Claim can look much like the Example Stems below . At other Claims items can vary more widely, as one would expect for multistep problems and authentic reasoning or modeling contexts. Claim 1 is divided into various Targets which correspond roughly to the Clusters within the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. The items from different targets will be taken based on emphasis with [m] being major, [a] additional and [s] supporting. Finally, in an era of anxiety about end-of-year assessment (which constitutes only part of the Smarter Balanced system), it should be said that these are offered primarily to promote teacher professional understanding. Practices such as using the Example Stems exclusively as learning targets are discouraged. SBA is designed as much as possible to assess authentic learning of mathematics as outlined in the Standards, so that authentic learning should guide instruction . Ratios and Proportional Relationships Target A [m] : Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems . (DOK 1, 2) Example Stem: A game has green and blue pieces . The ratio of green game pieces to total pieces is 5:12 . Select all the statements that are correct about the game pieces . A. The ratio of green pieces to blue pieces is 7:5 . B. The ratio of total pieces to blue pieces is 12:7 . C. There must be 7 more blue pieces than green pieces . D. The ratio of total pieces to green pieces is 12:5 . Answer Choices: Answer choices will be four statements describing the ratio relationship. At least two statements must be correct. Rubric: (1 point) Student selects all the correct statements (e.g., B and D) . Response Type: Multiple Choice, multiple correct response Stimulus: The student is presented with a table that has an equivalent ratio and a single missing value . Example Stem 1 : The table shows a relationship between the number of tennis balls that fit into a given number of cans . | Cans | Balls | | --- | --- | | 2 | 6 | | | 15 | | 7 | 21 | | 9 | 27 | Fill in the missing value in the table. Rubric: (1 point) Student enters correct missing value (e.g., 5) . Example Stem: The table shows a relationship between the number of tennis balls that fit into a given number of cans . | Cans | Balls | | --- | --- | | 1 | | | 4 | 12 | | 13 | | | 15 | 45 | Fill in the missing values to complete the table . Rubric: (1 point) Student enters the two correct values into the table (e.g., 3 and 39) . Response Type: Fill-in Table Stimulus: The student is presented with a completed table that has an equivalent ratio . Example Stem: The table shows a relationship between the number of tennis balls that fit into a given number of cans . | Cans | Balls | | --- | --- | | 2 | 6

FAQs

What does SBA Claim 1 assess in Grade 6 mathematics?

Claim 1 assesses a student’s understanding of concepts and ability to perform procedures. The document presents example stems aligned to this focus.

How are SBA Claims structured in this framework?

The SBA uses evidence-based design and elicits evidence of proficiency to support four math Claims. The document lists concept/procedures, problem solving, reasoning (including critique), and analyzing/modeling real-world contexts.

What types of student responses and tasks are included for ratio examples?

The ratio examples include multiple-correct multiple choice, fill-in table values, equation/numeric entry, and graphing tasks. Each includes rubrics indicating points and expected correctness.

Oct 3, 2026

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