I Received My Child's NJASK Scores... Now What?

Hello Friends!

Here in New Jersey, parents should have received their child's NJASK scores withing these past two weeks.  For some of you, the letter meant a pleasant end to months of anguishing over the scores that your child earned when they took this test back in May. For others, your realize that your child is not performing at the states expectations.  And still others of you are left perplexed by how to read the score report that you received.  Sylvan is here to help you with all of those things.

Let's first begin with reading the score report and what all of the numbers mean for your child.   In New Jersey, any score at a 200 and above is considered "Proficient" and "Above Proficient" for the upper echelons of the scoring.  Any score less than or equal to 199 is considered "Partially Proficient" and students that fall within this range are often placed in a school's Basic Skills Intervention (BSI) or Academic Support Program (ASP) for that school year.  When this is the case, teachers will be assigned to help your child and any others who also scored low to boost their basic skills in either reading or math.  These classes are taught as a group and the teacher attempts to cover concepts that the group collectively had difficulty with both on the test and in class this year.  Basic Skills teachers are also called upon to teach these classes in one of two ways: In one scenario they "push in," which means they come into the classroom and teach alongside the main classroom teacher and in the second scenario, they "pull-out" which means that students are pulled from their main classroom for 20-40 minutes (depending on the school) and are provided with additional instruction while the rest of the peers carry on with the lesson in the main classroom.

Now the question is- What else can I do for my child to make sure that they 

Attain or Maintain Proficiency next school year?

• Read. Read every day yourself so your child sees you reading and continuing to learn and have them read for at least 30 minutes every day. Your local Sylvan Learning Center provides a Skills Assessment at the outset of every child's program that helps us to target specific skill weaknesses in reading, vocabulary and phonics.  Often, once skill gaps are filled in, students perform better on not only the reading portion of test, but other parts as well since now they are able to thoroughly understand all of the directions.  
• Write every day.  Encourage your child to maintain a journal at home in addition to what they may be writing at school.  Sylvan also offers an Academic Writing Program for 5th graders and up that shows students how to plan, write, revise, edit and publish a variety of essays.  This not only aids them in writing for everyday assignments, but also for the writing portion of the NJASK.
• Practice basic facts.  There are many resources available for this, including a Sylvan Math Essentials program available at your local Sylvan Learning Center.
• Watch for warning signs from the first day of school.  A month before the NJASK is too late to start cramming.  If the scores from last year's test were low, what will this year's scores look like without extra help?  The best way that you can help your child is to get them help as soon as possible in the content areas rather than in straight up testing strategies.  

Looking for more outside help?
Call Sylvan to schedule a Skills Assessment and 

take the next BEST step towards your child's academic future!

Clinton, NJ: (908) 638-6788

Flemington, NJ: (908) 806-4010

Final Tips to Prepare for the New Jersey ASK

It's that time of year again...



This Tuesday, May 3rd,marks the beginning of the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge tests or NJASK for elementary and middle schoolers across the state. May 3-6 will be testing for 6th,7th and 8th graders, while the following week, May 9-13 will be testing for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.

Testing has become an integral part of an American education. More and more states are requiring testing proficiency for promotion and graduation, and parents need to help prepare their children for these exams. Sometime last week, your children should have brought home a sample test booklet. If you did not receive this booklet or may have misplaced it, you can find it here: https://www.measinc.com/nj/njask/default.aspx .

In final preparations for these weeks of testing, we have prepared a list of Do’s and Don’ts to help your children prepare for exams.

DO make sure your child completes homework assignments and class projects. Because tests reflect overall achievement, the more effort your child puts into learning, the more likely he or she will do well on tests.

DON’T judge your child on the basis of one test score. Test scores are not the perfect indicator of what your child can achieve, and a variety of factors can influence a test score. If your child has been struggling for the majority of this school year, however, and they do poorly on the NJASK, it may be an indication that they are having trouble with the bigger picture of school and may need some extra outside help.

DO, however, use your child’s test results to chart his or her academic progress. Educational assessments are among the best diagnostic tools educators and parents have at their disposal. By using rest results wisely, both you and your child’s teacher can build a personalized learning program with home activities that will help your child succeed.

DO support your child. Praise her for what she does best. When your child feels good about himself, he will do his best.

DO provide books and magazines for your child to read at home. Reading new materials can encourage your child to learn new words that might appear on a test. For a suggested age-appropriate reading list, visit www.BookAdventure.com.

DON’T allow your child to skimp on sleep or breakfast. Make sure that your child is well-rested and eats a well-balanced breakfast on school days- especially the day of a big test. A well-rested, healthy body leads to a healthy, active mind.


Good luck to all of our students on your NJASK!