Parent guide

When NJSLA testing happens, and what parents should know

NJSLA testing typically happens in the spring. Your child’s school — not a single statewide day — chooses the exact dates inside a window the New Jersey Department of Education publishes each year.

The spring 2027 statewide window

For the 2026–27 school year, NJ DOE scheduled the spring NJSLA-A English language arts and math administration and the NJSLA-Science administration for April 19, 2027 through May 21, 2027.

• ELA: grades 3 through 9
• Math: grades 3 through high school (Algebra I, Geometry, or Algebra II as needed based on accountability requirements)
• Science: grades 5, 8, and 11

That information comes from the Statewide Assessment Testing Schedule 2026–27 on the NJ DOE website. If your family lives in Bergen County — Hackensack, Paramus, Teaneck, Ridgewood, Fort Lee, or a nearby town — check your district calendar or a note from the school for the specific days your child’s grade will test. Two neighboring districts can pick different weeks inside the same state window.

What “the window” means for families

New Jersey has moved toward giving districts the full window to test, including time for make-ups, rather than a separate, short make-up period at the end. A May 2026 NJ DOE broadcast about the 2026–27 and 2027–28 schedules noted that dedicated make-up windows were removed so districts have more flexibility, and that schools must still plan both a regular testing date and a make-up opportunity for each student.

In plain language: your child should have a scheduled test day and a chance to make it up if they are absent. Ask the school office if you need the building’s dates or make-up policy in writing.

A recent example: spring 2026

For context, the 2025–26 statewide schedule listed the spring NJSLA-Adaptive (ELA and math) and NJSLA-Science window as April 27 through May 29, 2026. The state’s Spring 2026 key dates page used the same window for computer-based and paper-based NJSLA-A and NJSLA-Science testing. Dates change from year to year, so use the current schedule rather than last year’s calendar.

What parents can do beforehand

• Confirm your school’s testing days and what your child should bring (usually a charged district device if the school uses one, and whatever the school lists).
• Ask which tests your child will take — especially if they are in grade 5 or 8 (science is added) or if an eighth grader is in Algebra I.
• Keep practice light and regular in the months before the window, not as a late-night cram during testing week.
• On test mornings, the usual advice still helps: a normal bedtime, breakfast, and arriving on time. The test is important, and it is one measure of grade-level skills, not a verdict on your child.

Other spring assessments exist too. For example, some students take Dynamic Learning Maps instead of NJSLA, and English learners take WIDA ACCESS earlier in the calendar year. Those programs have their own windows on the same NJ DOE schedule page. If you are unsure which assessments apply to your child, the school is the right place to ask.

When scores come back, see how to read NJSLA scores. To practice skills beforehand, try our games for grades 3–8.

More parent guides

• All parent guides
• NJSLA practice by grade (3–8)
• 5th grade math: what’s tested
• 8th grade math: what’s tested
• ELA practice tips
• When NJSLA testing happens
• How to read NJSLA scores