This fall a panel of over 500 educators, parents, and community leaders went through the field tests and assessment questions at each grade level to set achievement levels. These were approved in November.
The scores fall along a continuous vertical scale from 2000 to 3000 that increases across grade levels. The panel decided the thresholds which determined novice, progressing, proficient, and advanced at each grade level.
http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Interpr...