Families across Summit, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Chatham and Madison won't see their children's state test scores until late 2026 — months later than usual — after New Jersey switched its standardized tests to a new computerized format this spring.
Why the delay is happening.
The NJSLA and NJGPA exams moved to a computerized adaptive format for the first time this year, adjusting question difficulty in real time based on each student's answers. Since the scoring scale is entirely new, old passing thresholds don't apply anymore. Panels of educators now have to review actual student responses and recommend new cut scores before any results can go out. NJGPA results for 11th graders are expected before winter break; NJSLA scores for grades 3-9 aren't expected until sometime in fall, with no specific date set. The state says this is a one-time delay, and future years should see results back by June 30 — nearly two months earlier than before.
The bigger issue: will the new scores even mean anything comparable?
For families, timing may matter less than trust. If a district's proficiency rate jumps or drops next year, will that reflect real academic change — or just an easier or harder scoring scale? John Migueis of nj21st, a local civic journalism outlet, put it bluntly: "Without explicit technical transparency and linking studies from the Department of Education, it will be nearly impossible for families and school boards to determine whether future shifts in district proficiency rates reflect genuine academic growth or simply a system change with easier-to-reach passing lines."
The state hasn't provided the documentation to check.
Migueis has filed public records requests since December seeking linking studies that would connect the new scores to old ones. The state told him in June that standard-error data hadn't even been calculated yet, and earlier said it doesn't keep technical manuals or linking studies proving the new scores are comparable to past results. A follow-up list of 17 questions sent to the state in July had gone unanswered as of publication.
What the old scores looked like, for reference.
On last year's final fixed-form test, local ELA proficiency ranged from 85.6% in New Providence to 71.8% in Berkeley Heights; Summit posted 81.7% in ELA and 58.9% in math. All five districts remained below their 2019 pre-pandemic math levels. None of those numbers will be directly comparable to whatever this year's new test produces.
What's still unresolved.
The state hasn't committed to publishing a linking study that would let parents compare new results to old ones, and it's unclear whether the educator panels setting cut scores will even see data showing how their choices sort students into performance levels. Local school boards haven't addressed the issue publicly.
