The Fourth Grade Benchmark Assessments were designed using feedback from testing grade level Assessment and Reporting Committee teams (3-6) and Power Standards in ELA and math to measure student progress commencing in the 2021-22 academic year. This feedback includes alignment to the SBAC, using credible resources such as the SBAC Blueprints and Content Explorer, IABs, and the Common Core Companion Guide.  Fourth Grade ARC teachers designed and approved a cumulative math benchmark assessment during meeting 5 (May  2019).  All selected test questions from the team were used in the development of the VESD Math Benchmark Assessment.  The tests will be computer scored and data will sync automatically into DnA by Renaissance (formally Illuminate), so no entry from the teacher is necessary.  Below are the District negotiated Focus Standard(s) they measure, testing windows for the year, and resources for administration, all of which the Fourth Grade ARC team had the opportunity to review and provide input towards.

Online Benchmarks were revised for the 2025–26 school year based on valuable stakeholder feedback, beginning with the Baseline Assessments, which are now aligned to prior year’s standards to better reflect student readiness. Starting in Trimester 1, each benchmark will feature consistent question types, aligned Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels, and focus standards that are directly connected to the Smarter Balanced Content Explorer. To support instructional planning, Benchmark Blueprints will include sample question stems as well as helpful links and resources designed to deepen student thinking and extend learning.

• RI.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

• W.4.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

• W.4.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

• SL.4.2 Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

• L.4.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

• 4.OA.A.1 Interpret a multiplication equation as a comparison, e.g., interpret 35 = 5 × 7 as a statement that 35 is 5 times as many as 7 and 7 times as many as 5. Represent verbal statements of multiplicative comparisons as multiplication equations.

• 4.OA.A.3 Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.

• 4.OA.B.4 Find all factor pairs for a whole number in the range 1-100. Recognize that a whole number is a multiple of each of its factors. Determine whether a given whole number in the range 1-100 is a multiple of a given one-digit number. Determine whether a given whole number in the range 1-100 is prime or composite.

• 4.NBT.A.2 Read and write multi-digit whole numbers using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form. Compare two multi-digit numbers based on meanings of the digits in each place, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.

• 4.NBT.B.4 Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.

• 4.NBT.B.5 Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

• 4.NBT.B.6 Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.

• 4.NF.A.1 Explain why a fraction a/b is equivalent to a fraction (n × a)/(n × b) by using visual fraction models, with attention to how the number and size of the parts differ even though the two fractions themselves are the same size. Use this principle to recognize and generate equivalent fractions.

• 4.NF.A.2 Compare two fractions with different numerators and different denominators, e.g., by creating common denominators or numerators, or by comparing to a benchmark fraction such as 1/2. Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two fractions refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with symbols >, =, or <, and justify the conclusions, e.g., by using a visual fraction model.

• 4.MD.A.3 Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems. For example, find the width of a rectangular room given the area of the flooring and the length, by viewing the area formula as a multiplication equation with an unknown factor.