Karen Barton Named Deputy Executive Director at Smarter Balanced

Barton arrives at the Santa Clara-based consortium following a career defined by leadership in research, measurement, and the integration of human and AI-driven scoring technologies. Her mandate includes coordinating cross-departmental teams and overseeing complex assessment portfolios designed to support student learning outcomes.

Executive Director Tony Alpert highlighted the unanimous support Barton received from multidisciplinary panels during the selection process. For her part, Barton intends to apply her background as a former special education teacher to the consortium’s development of learning tools. She emphasizes the necessity of creating assessment systems that provide educators with clear, actionable insights while ensuring every student has an equitable opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge.