On Monday, April 28th and Tuesday, April 29th, River Dell freshmen and juniors will take New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA).
According to the Department of Education, “New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) are statewide assessments that assess students’ progress toward the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, and science.”
From grades three through eight, students spend one week taking these assessments, typically spending two days for ELA, two days for mathematics, and one day for science. At RDHS, however, only freshmen and juniors will take the NJSLA while sophomores and seniors will have delayed openings. In addition, for the first time, instead of spending one week straight taking these tests, administration decided that it would be best to break up the schedule so that students could take the English test in April and math and science assessments in May.
Mr. Pepe, RDHS principal, shared that with four to five days of testing in a row, he feels that students get “crushed.” Math testing in May also gives students the opportunity to “learn math material for another twenty days,” he said.
“I feel like even during the time from April to May, I learn more,” shared Sabrina Klein, freshman at River Dell. “I would rather have math in May.”
Aside from switching up the schedule to provide more learning time for students, administrators, especially Mrs. Jen Ali, Supervisor of Mathematics, have been working on behind-the-scenes components from the organizational to technological aspects of testing.
Some of these organizational aspects include providing testing rooms for students. Students are randomly assigned classrooms in which they are required to go to the morning of testing to complete their assessment. Each classroom is assigned two proctors, or teacher directors, to oversee the class.
In order to choose proctors, Ali shared that she “make[s] a spreadsheet of when the teachers have off and tr[ies] to use these teaches who have off the first block as proctors.”
Aside from determining proctors, Mrs. Ali also heads some of the other logistical aspects of testing. For instance, in September, she must “make sure that all students who are going to take the test are registered for the state.” Then, she makes sure that all students’ accommodations are met. This may include situations where some students get extra testing time, so they will all report to the same classroom to avoid disturbance from students who do not have accommodations.
Not only does administration work hard to ensure that testing runs smoothly, but students also work to receive the best possible score by taking practice tests.
Through TestNav, an online test-taking platform, students can take “mock” assessments to prepare them for what to expect on the NJSLA similar to taking SAT/ACT practice tests.
“Sometimes to prepare for NJSLA, I either review what I learned during the math year, take a practice test, or do some English questions,” said Klein. Overall, “I do think that it is preparing me to get used to taking a standardized test.”
Mr. Pepe agrees, as he shared that “it does prepare you, especially now with the SAT going digital. When you sit for SAT, it’s not the first time you’re seeing a digital test.”
However, unlike the SAT/ACT, NJSLA does not have a large impact on students’ overall academic career. It mainly provides feedback for administrators and shows where students may need extra support.
“If we see a student struggling, it will really bring a light to some things we can offer to help,” said Pepe.
NJSLA seems to primarily benefit students rather than harm them. It allows them to see areas they can improve for the upcoming year.
“I think that it is beneficial for students to take the test as a way to give the school and the students the feedback that we need,” shared Klein.