Assessments & Testing

These statewide assessments, which are aligned to a small set of standards from last year, will help educators understand the level of support that students need to be successful this year. The NJ Start Strong Assessment window usually takes place from mid-September to late-October.   They are based on a subset of prioritized prior-year academic standards, available in ELA grades 4-10, math grades 4-8, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II, and in science grades 6, 9, and 12. The results will complement our classroom measures to guide instruction for all students. Additional information and specific schedules for the NJ Start Strong Assessments will be sent home by your child’s school as we near the administration.

https://nj.mypearsonsupport.com/resources/educatorresources/startStrong/Fall%202021%20Administration%20Information%20for%20Parents.pdf  

Students participate in the statewide NJSLA, which provides the District with rich information that helps to strengthen its educational programming in ELA and Math. The NJSLA window will take place from April - June. Additional information and specific schedules for the yearly NJSLA will be sent home by your child’s principal as we near the administration.  Additionally, some of our students will participate in standardized assessments in science as mandated by the NJDOE. Students in grades 5, 8, and 11 will participate in the NJSLA Science assessments during the NJSLA window as well.  For more information visit:  https://nj.mypearsonsupport.com/ForParent/

District Pre-K students will participate in Gold Assessments. This is a formative assessment system that has been designed and extensively validated for use with young children ages birth to kindergarten. Families will meet with their classroom teachers and be provided with an assessment report three times a year (fall, winter, and spring).

Students in grades K-11 will participate in STAR assessments We introduced this assessment as a means to improve our ability to determine your child’s  instructional level, as well as allow the classroom teacher to measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year, in the areas of Math and Reading. Your child will participate in the STAR assessment 3-4 times during the school year so that we can measure progress made during the year, creating a longitudinal picture of your child’s educational growth. More information regarding the STAR testing may be found at: https://www.renaissance.com/2016/09/09/parents-guide-star-assessments/

Students at Columbia High School who participate in any of our Advanced Placement courses will also participate in the AP testing. This assessment window usually takes place from in May, for the following courses: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/exam-calendar

Individual student grade reports will be sent to your homes directly from the College Board. Information about Advanced Placement tests can be found at:  https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/exploreap/for-parents

Students in grades K-8 are given this assessment 2-3 times a year based on their benchmark scores. Students work one-to-one with a teacher to assess their fluency, accuracy, and literal/interpretive comprehension of a text. This information is used to support the student as a reader.

Students in grades K-2 are given this assessment to determine readiness in literacy, math, and small motor skills to understand a student's needs better.

Students in grades K-2 are given a phonics assessment, 3-5 a spelling assessment, 6-8 a vocabulary assessment, 9-12 a grammar assessment - this information is used to support the student as a language learner.

The Predictive Assessment of Reading (PAR) screening given twice a year in 1st grade (new students to the district in 2nd grade) provides the classroom teacher and building administrators with information that can inform instruction and indicate students at risk for various reading difficulties. In addition, the assessment highlights areas that might become obstacles in a student's current and future reading proficiencies.

Students in grades K-12 are assessed twice a year to determine grade level proficiency for writing skills in narrative and non-narrative genres of writing. This information is used to support the students as a writer.

All students, K-12, who attend English as a Second Language (ESL) classes or were found eligible for ESL, but declined services will participate in ACCESS for ELLs testing during the assessment window from February 14, 2022 - April 8, 2022. ACCESS for ELLs is given annually to monitor students’ progress in learning academic English, which is a U.S. federal requirement of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Students are assessed in the four language domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. More information about ACCESS for ELLs testing may be accessed at:  https://wida.wisc.edu/assess/access