Which of these scenarios do you find the least plausible?
1. You place an order at Jersey Mike’s and are told “your lunch will be ready in 3-4 weeks.”
2. A teenager takes their driving test in February and finds out in July if they passed.
3. A 4th-grader completes their NJSLA math exam in April and learns the results in October.
It’s a trick question: The three situations are all equally absurd. Unfortunately, and infuriatingly, scenario #3 happens every year to one million NJ parents who receive their children's math and reading results from the spring while shopping for Halloween decorations.
Why such a delay? That’s a question our Department of Education won’t answer.
Maybe there aren’t enough of us demanding one. Yet.
That’s the motivation behind our new campaign. Math skills are core to every person’s well-being. That’s why NJ law stipulates that a high school diploma guarantees a graduate is “prepared… for success in postsecondary degree programs, careers, and civic life.” Standardized tests show whether students have gotten that preparation and are ready for adult life.
Our ask is simple and fits the cliché of a “win win”: provide teachers, parents, and students the state test results within 30 days of completing the assessment. At least 43 other states return their results earlier than New Jersey, with many states returned by June. And for decades nearly every other standardized test, including the SAT and ACT, has delivered results within a couple of weeks. There’s no excuse for months of delay on a digital test.
Getting state test results in June not only provides a timely window into how students are performing, but also allows for making the last few weeks of school more meaningful by using the time to fill skills gaps. It enables teachers and parents to identify resources for a student to catch up on these missing skills over the summer, so they can all hit the ground running in September on grade level. Early results also help inform next year’s course assignments.
Please join us in spreading this message. The first step in giving our kids a brighter future is knowing where they are now…not 6 months down the road.
