Why Has Standardized Testing Increased In The Last Twenty Years?

Students living in New Jersey took the New Jersey State Learning Assessment-Adaptive and the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment-Adaptive, as part of a series of field tests administered by the State of New Jersey on October 28-30 and November 3, 2025 to see how the state government can improve testing.

Similarly, on October 22 , an infrastructure test took place for the NJSLA-A and NJGPA-A on October 22 to ensure that students and staff were able to easily access the new platform selected to administer the NJSLA-A and NJGPA-A; In August, New Jersey’s Department of Education took the step in switching from their previous state testing application, Pearson, to a new adaptive app that changes the following question based on the students' responses, entitled Cambium Assessments.

Vice Principal of NJ school, Hillborough High School, Christine McCabe, highlights the impact on instructional time for staff and students.“The sudden news that we would have to do the field test in a short time frame in October and November was jarring for staff and students,” McCabe said. “Students didn't really understand why and it took instructional time away from staff.”

The test was conducted to learn how the future spring testing will be progressed to measure and better the overall standardized testing experience, in accordance with New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) School administered the NJSLA-A on October 28, 29, and November 3.

A sharp increase in standardized testing this year is linked to part of a lasting pledge by the state of New Jersey to modernize how students are assessed. The state has goals of creating stronger results that will help determine an individual's strengths and weaknesses as a student.

During the October 27, 2025 Hillsborough Board of Education meeting, experts such as Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Lisa Remimbas shared strong district wide results in the state testing. “The corresponding NJSLA proficiency levels are exceeding,” shared Remimbas. However, the frequency of testing has gone up along with the scores.

According to The Editors of Procon, a nonpartisan editing program, departing from Britannica, “Although standardized tests have been part of American education since the mid-1800s, their use skyrocketed after the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated annual standardized testing of reading and math proficiency in all 50 states.” (Standardized Tests). This source also states that while low scores of student exams can have consequences such as prevention from entering the next grade level, high scores can be rewarded with the continuation of federal and local funding for educational purposes. This act was passed with bipartisan support (381-41) in the US House of Representatives, and was soon signed into Law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002. To provide context, the NCLB once required that 100 percent of U.S. students be experienced on state reading and math exams by 2014.

In accordance with the U.S Department of Education, “NCLB put in place measures that exposed achievement gaps among traditionally underserved students and their peers and spurred an important national dialogue on education improvement. This focus on accountability has been critical in ensuring a quality education for all children, yet also revealed challenges in the effective implementation of this goal.” (A New Education Law). Today, the NCLB act no longer is in action. However, a similar testing standard called the Every Student Succeeds Act, took effect effect in 2015.

In 2010, groups and individuals opposed to standardized testing publicly criticized the overhaul of the NCLB act, as they claimed it could lead to narrowing the curriculum, increased stress and more.

Superintendent Micheal Volpe of Hillsborough, NJ, shares that education has recently become a political hot topic. Volpe also states that while testing is important to measure a portion of a student's knowledge, they are overassessed; being that standardized testing is not valuable to measuring how an individual has grown outside of the classroom. Interpersonal skills, creativity, and critical thinking are not targeted, as highlighted by Micheal Volpe and Dr. Lisa Remimbas.

Micheal Volpe and Dr. Lisa Remimbas demonstrated that education has recently become politicized in the media. Volpe argues that while testing is important to measure the intellectual knowledge of a student, they are overassessed. Standardized testing is not valuable to measuring how an individual has grown as a person, outside of the classroom. Dr. Remimbas highlights that interpersonal skills, creativity and critical thinking are not targeted in standardized testing.