New Jersey’s statewide assessment program, developed and implemented by the Office of Evaluation and Assessment (OEA), is designed to measure the extent to which all students at the elementary-, middle- and secondary-school levels have attained New Jersey’s Core Curriculum Content Standards. The OEA works collaboratively, both within the department and with districts and schools, to collect and report information about student academic achievement in order to inform instruction, increase student learning, and help parents and the public to assess the current status of their schools.

New Jersey’s statewide assessment program currently includes three major components:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK), administered in grades 3 and 4

MIDDLE SCHOOL
Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA), administered in grade 8; and

HIGH SCHOOL
High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), administered in grade 11.

In addition, the statewide assessment program currently includes three tests for specialized populations:

• Alternate Proficiency Assessment (APA), for students with severe disabilities;
• High School Proficiency Test (HSPT11), for adult high school and returning students. The final HSPT 11 will be administered in spring 2004; and
• Special Review Assessment (SRA), for students who have not demonstrated proficiency in one or more content areas of the HSPA.

Merit’s Language Arts and math software programs correlate to the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and can help students prepare for the State tests. The content and format of Merit’s programs can help students develop and strengthen their test-taking skills as well as their reading, writing and math skills.

Merit reading software has been proven -- through rigorous, scientifically based research -- to increase both student reading comprehension and standardized test scores. Merit research study findings reveal that education software is an effective tool to improve test scores and academic performance.



Published: May 2005