There’s been a fair amount of blowback to the New Jersey State Education Department’s mandate that this fall schools administer the Start Strong standardized tests, the same test students took in fall 2021. Why the reluctance? Many school districts use internal interim assessments–like NWEA’s MAP tests or Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready tests–to track student progress two or three times during the year. If we already are testing students with high-quality formative assessments, why do we need the state’s tests?
That’s why Janina Kusiliewicz, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Clifton schools, told the Asbury Park Press, “mandating the Start Strong assessment simply results in overtesting. Our district has a strong local benchmark testing program, which gives us much more granular individualized results.”
True enough. Yet it’s a delight to praise Murphy’s DOE, in this particular case, for doing what’s right for kids, teachers, parents, and schools. Here are five reasons why they got it right:
Go New Jersey DOE!
EXPLAINER: What Are Standardized Tests and Why Do We Need Them?
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