1	New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge Language Arts Literacy
2	NJ ASK – Language Arts Literacy Standard 3.1 (READING) All students will understand and apply the knowledge of sounds, letters, and words in written English to become independent and fluent readers, and will read a variety of materials and texts with fluency and comprehension.
3	NJ ASK – Language Arts Literacy Standard 3.2 (WRITING) All students will write in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.
4	NJ ASK – Language Arts Literacy Standard 3.3 (SPEAKING) All students will speak in clear, concise, organized language that varies in content and form for different audiences and purposes.
5	NJ ASK – Language Arts Literacy Standard 3.4 (LISTENING) All students will listen actively to information from a variety of sources in a variety of situations.
6	NJ ASK – Language Arts Literacy Standard 3.5 (VIEWING) All students will access, view, evaluate, and respond to print, non-print, and electronic texts and resources.
7	NJ ASK – Language Arts Literacy LAL tasks and activities assess knowledge and skills described in New Jersey’s core curriculum content standards (NJ CCCS). The knowledge and skills described for language arts literacy are recursive and cumulative. Students build their knowledge and skills gradually, developing language ability that increases in complexity as they encounter, analyze, and use language in increasingly complex ways. NJ ASK is administered in March so that schools and parents receive their reports before the end of the school year. These scores are used to calculate AYP, as required by NCLB.
8	NJ ASK – Language Arts Literacy NJ ASK is not a diagnostic test but a test designed to measure how well students are achieving New Jersey’s core curriculum content standards (NJ CCCS). Scores on this assessment do not equate with grades but determine instead whether students are achieving the knowledge and skills described in the NJ CCCS. Students’ raw score points are converted to scale scores that fall into one of three bands of performance: partially proficient, proficient, and advanced proficient. The number of raw score points needed for proficient and advanced proficient scale scores may vary slightly from year to year depending on the level of test difficulty.
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10	NJ ASK – Language Arts Literacy The LAL committee meets 4 times per year to select reading passages and review test items. The contractor proposes materials for NJ ASK, but the LAL committee reviews, revises, or rewrites test items to ensure that the materials meet the expectations of New Jersey’s core curriculum content standards. The LAL committee is comprised of 3^rd- and 4^th-grade teachers from school districts throughout the state. The committee is diverse and represents all economic and geographic regions in New Jersey.
11	NJ ASK – Language Arts Literacy The LAL Committee meets for 3 to 4 days for each item review meeting. Once reading passages and poems are approved, the committee selects the illustrations that are used for the picture prompts and for the reading passages themselves. The committee spends hours going through writing prompts, multiple-choice questions, and open-ended items. Items undergo many revisions to ensure that each item truly reflects the core curriculum content standards and to ensure that the test materials are appropriate, understandable, and clear for New Jersey’s 3^rd or 4^th graders. Committee members participate in all phases of test development, rangefinding, and statistical analysis to maintain the content validity and reliability of the test across years.
12	Content Clusters for NJ ASK3 and NJ ASK4 ► Reading ► Writing Speaking Listening Viewing
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16	Generating Text: Writing Working with Text: Development of central idea Development of supporting details Elaboration Organization of ideas
17	Generating Text: Writing Analyzing/Critiquing Text: Use of writing strategies Use of varied sentence structure/ word choice Forming of opinions Development of conclusions Use of textual conventions and literary elements Consideration of audience
18	Generated Text: Reading Working with Text: This cluster focuses on ideas and information that are presented in the text and available either literally or by extrapolation. Successful responses to reading questions in this cluster demonstrate that students have synthesized the ideas and information in the text and constructed meaning from what they have read.
19	Generated Text: Reading Working with Text: Recognition of central idea or theme Recognition of supporting details Extrapolation of information/following directions Paraphrasing/retelling (Vocabulary) Recognition of text organization Recognition of a purpose for reading
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21	Generated Text: Reading Analyzing/Critiquing Text: Questioning, Clarifying, Predicting Prediction of tentative meaning Forming of opinions Drawing of conclusions Interpretation of textual conventions and literary elements
22	Test Tasks and Item Frequency NJ ASK3
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24	"NJ ASK3" NJ ASK3 50% (20 points) assesses Writing 50% (20 points) assesses Reading - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 60% (12 points) of the Reading total is multiple choice 40% (8 points) of the Reading total is open-ended - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 72% (10 of 14 questions) assesses Working with Text 28% (4 of 14 questions) assesses Analyzing/Critiquing Text NJ ASK4 46% (20 points) assesses Writing 54 % (23 points) assesses Reading - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 48% (11 points) of the Reading total is multiple choice 52% (12 points) of the Reading total is open-ended - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 57 to 64% (8 or 9 of 14 questions) assesses Working with Text 36 to 43% (5 or 6 of 14 questions) assesses Analyzing/Critiquing Text
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54	Contact Information Director of Evaluation and Assessment Brian Robinson Office #: 609-984-6311 E-mail: brian.robinson@doe.state.nj.us NJ ASK Coordinator Orlando Vadel Office #: 609-341-3456 E-mail: orlando.vadel@doe.state.nj.us Science Coordinator Stephen Goldman Office #: 609-777-2080 E-mail: stephen.goldman@doe.state.nj.us
55	Contact Information Mathematics Coordinator Timothy Giordano Office #: 609-633-8015 E-mail: timothy.giordano@doe.state.nj.us Language Arts Literacy Coordinator Roseanne Harris Office #: 609-292-8779 E-mail: roseanne.harris@doe.state.nj.us