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Student report flags usability problems in New Jersey field test; Education commissioner posts practice resources
Summary
A high school junior told the State Board that field testing for a new adaptive statewide exam lacked clear instructions and key tools (bookmarking visibility, passage highlighting); Commissioner Locks pointed the board to a new resource tile, FAQs and online practice tests and said some issues have been addressed.
Kaylin DeRose, a junior at East Brunswick High School, told the New Jersey State Board of Education that a fall field test of the department's new adaptive exam left many students unaware of basic functionality and without the tools they said they needed to do their best.
"Students weren't audibly told about these tools nor were written instructions present before beginning the exam," DeRose told the board. She said students discovered features such as bookmarking and a virtual notepad only by clicking around the software, sometimes at the expense of test time, and that the field test did not allow readers to highlight passages in reading and writing modules. DeRose also cited a College Board stat from the 2025 New Jersey SAT suite report about statewide test participation to underline familiarity with adaptive formats.
Commissioner Locks responded that the Department of Education has posted an "adaptive assessments" tile on its homepage with FAQs, five one-page overviews and recorded info sessions, and that links to the New Jersey assessment portal include online practice tests for students and families. "I've been assured the highlighting issue is fixed," she said, and urged continued input from students and teachers as the department moves toward operational administration of the assessment.
Board members praised DeRose's work surveying peers, and several said student and teacher feedback will shape test rollout and communications. The department said it will continue to add resources and to post recordings of outreach sessions for those who cannot attend live.
The board did not take formal action on the assessment at the meeting; members noted that public testimony on other items will resume at the April session and that the department will continue to solicit stakeholder feedback leading up to the operational test.
