Standardized Assessments and NJSLA

In HVRSD, knowing what our students already know, what they need to learn and how they best learn it are the cornerstones upon which our instructional programs are built. Assessment informs all decisions. Best practices within our classroom provide educators with ample opportunities to track student learning and understanding. In addition, several standardized assessments are employed to collect data to allow us to track student progress and our progress as a district.

The New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) is a set of assessments to measure student achievement and preparedness for college and careers.

The NJSLA assessments are aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards and were created to measure students' ability to apply their knowledge of concepts rather than memorizing facts. The NJSLA assessments require students to solve problems using mathematical reasoning and to be able to model mathematical principles. In English Language Arts (ELA), students will be required to closely read multiple passages and to write essay responses in literary analysis, research tasks, and narrative tasks. The assessments will also provide teachers and parents with valuable information on student progress to inform instruction and provide targeted student support in school and at home.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that all students in grades 3-11 be tested annually in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics.