September 2022
Dear 4th and 5th Grade Parents and Guardians:
Start Strong Assessments are required by the state of New Jersey to be administered this fall. These
assessments are intentionally brief and designed to maximize instructional time and quickly provide
critical data to teachers and school leaders. These important assessments provide our schools the
flexibility to address students’ unique needs at the beginning of the school year.
The Start Strong Assessments:
• Are based on a subset of prioritized prior-year academic standards;
• Are given in the areas of ELA grades 4 & 5 and Mathematics grades 4 & 5;
• Can be administered in approximately 45-60 minutes;
• Will provide immediate results to educators through the assessment platform; and
• Will include the same accessibility features and accommodations as the NJSLA, including forms in
Spanish and Text to Speech (TTS).
The Start Strong Assessments utilize three performance levels (“Strong Support May Be Needed”; “Some
Support May Be Needed”; and “Less Support May Be Needed”) to aid educators and families in making
decisions about the types of support that students may need. The reports will be available to educators
immediately after students complete the assessment. Please keep in mind that Start Strong Assessments
are not meant to replace any district assessment strategies being currently used, but will be used to
complement existing efforts to gather standards-based data at the beginning of the school year.
The REVISED testing schedule will be as follows:
● ELA testing will take place on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2022
● Math testing will take place on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022
More information can be found at: https://nj.mypearsonsupport.com/startStrong/
Very truly yours,
Scott G. Uribe