By CATHERINE CARRERA
NJ Spotlight
New Jersey’s switch to modernized statewide exams for the 2025-’26 school year came with big promises of academic benefits for students and logistical advantages for educators.
But there was a major drawback: It will be months until results are reported from the first round of tests in the spring. That means educators will not have them in time to determine student needs before the start of school in September.
From March through May, students in grades three to nine and 11 took computerized exams that used their answers to formulate more questions. The new format was designed to keep students engaged and give educators a clearer picture of students’ strengths and challenges.
A lengthy technical process must unfold before the results can be shared with students, families, teachers and administrators, state Education Department leaders said at a New Jersey Board of Education meeting this month.
The delay is “because of the standard-setting process and additional quality control procedures that are standard for the first year of a new assessment,” said John Boczany, director of assessments at the New Jersey Department of Education.
The department recruited educators, administrators and others from rural, urban and suburban school districts to collaborate on standards. The steps include determining cut scores, for the minimum passing marks, and writing performance level descriptions based on the state’s Student Learning Standards.
The process, Boczany explained, could not have started sooner because it requires using “actual student results.” The teams of educators also will be tasked with reviewing and scoring answers to the spring writing prompts.
“While reporting was delayed in its first year due to the extensive hand scoring of the ELA writing prompts and the standard-setting requirements, the department anticipates earlier reporting in the following administrations,” said Jorden Schiff, assistant commissioner of the education department’s teaching and learning services. ELA refers to English and language arts.
Department leaders said they anticipate spring exam outcomes in December. School districts usually see such results in August and use them to determine students’ needs ahead of the school year’s start.
For the 2026-’27 school year, results will be delivered far quicker, department officials said. Spring 2027 exam results will be released to districts by June 30. The data will remain accessible for students who move to other schools, even in other districts.
In the coming months, the state school board will be asked to review and adopt new cut scores, with recommendations backed by extensive research and technical analysis, according to Education Commissioner Lily Laux.
“Our role as policymakers is not to serve as the technical experts,” she noted, “but to make sure we understand the process, ensure that it’s rigorous and credible and evaluate the recommendations that emerge from it.”
