The following is a press release from the Northshore School District.

Northshore School District, in partnership with the Northshore Council PTSA, is holding informational meetings for parents on Smarter Balanced Assessments.

NSD is planning an overview of Common Core State Standards and Smarter Balanced Assessments, explaining how Smarter Balanced Assessments are different than previous state assessments and the impacts to students by grade level.

Parents will also have the opportunity to work through sample test questions and get their questions answered.

The informational meetings are scheduled for two days in the coming month.

On Friday, April 3, from 9:30 to 11 a.m., the meeting will be hosted at the Northshore School District’s administrative center’s board room located at 3330 Monte Villa Pkwy in Bothell.

The second will be on Monday, April 6, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and it will take place in the Inglemoor High School’s library, located at 15500 Simonds Rd NE in Kenmore.

Common Core State Standards, which are academic learning standards in math and English language arts, were established to ensure all students are ready for success after high school. The Smarter Balanced Assessments, or tests, measure student progress on those standards.

Northshore students in grades 3-8, 10 and 11 are taking the new Smarter Balanced Assessments online this spring.

The new learning standards are different and more challenging than the standards they replaced.

The tests replace the reading, writing and math Measurement of Student Progress (MSP) for students in grades 3-8.

The Smarter Balanced Assessments will also replace the Grade 10 High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) and End of Course (EOC) exams over the next few years.

For more information on Smarter Balanced Assessment, please visit www.nsd.org/smarterbalanced.