Families across New Jersey will not be able to compare their children's new state test scores to prior years' results until at least 2027.

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) confirmed that linking studies needed to make that comparison have not been completed, according to NJ21st, which first reported the department's response on Friday, Oct. 23. Federal validation of the new exams will not begin until June 2027.

The disclosure matters for Summit, New Providence and Berkeley Heights families because New Jersey switched to adaptive versions of its statewide tests this past spring. The New Jersey Student Learning Assessment-Adaptive (NJSLA-A) and the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment-Adaptive (NJGPA-A) adjust question difficulty based on how a student answers. The State Board of Education approved new proficiency cut scores for the NJSLA-A on Sept. 9, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association.

Without finished linking studies, there is no validated way to tell whether a shift in proficiency rates reflects a real change in student learning or a change in the testing system itself.

What the NJDOE said

NJDOE spokesperson Michael Yaple provided a written response to NJ21st outlining the timeline. The department said linking studies "are anticipated to be completed before the release of the statewide NJSLA-A and NJGPA-A results." The exact release date for those statewide results has not been announced.

A formal alignment study, in which educators evaluate test items against the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS), will begin in late 2026, according to the department's response. A full technical report with federal accountability data is expected in spring 2027.

The department also confirmed that peer review and federal validation for the NJSLA-A will start in June 2027. Six other states already use the same Cambium adaptive testing model and have passed that federal review, the NJDOE noted.

Local impact already visible

Berkeley Heights has already begun presenting results under the new system. Agenda materials posted ahead of the district's Sept. 25 board of education meeting showed that 93% of 11th-grade students, 191 of 205, met the graduation-ready standard in English language arts on the NJGPA-A. In math, 88%, or 180 of 205, met the standard, according to NJ21st's preview of the meeting.

NJ21st reporter Laura Kapuscinski flagged the limitation at the time: those rates use the new cut scores and carry "big question marks especially on how they can compare to last year."

The transition has already caused delays statewide. In Newark, the district received individual student results from the NJDOE on Sept. 18, according to Chalkbeat. That was weeks after the school year started. State officials had alerted the public that scores would arrive later than usual because new scoring benchmarks needed State Board approval.

What families should watch for

The NJDOE said cut scores will be presented to the State Board of Education at public meetings. The department pledged to keep families and educators "fully informed" about the adopted scores and the results that follow.