In an Aug. 19 broadcast memo, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) announced updates to universal literacy screening requirements for the 26-27 school year. Notably, updates include:
- The NJDOE is now requiring LEAs to administer screeners three times per year “to strengthen the use of data for instructional decision-making”
- Regarding required screener data submission, LEAs will no longer be required to manually enter data into the state reporting template, and may instead submit raw data files. Submitted data files must meet certain requirements spelled out in the broadcast. At a later time, the NJDOE intends to provide a list of approved vendor exports that can be used for submission.
- 26-27 data submission timeline
- Beginning of year screener data: due Nov. 13, 2026Middle of year screener data: due Feb. 12, 2027
- End of year screener data: due July 2, 2027.
The broadcast also announces NJDOE’s intent to provide additional technical assistance sessions prior to the beginning of year screener data submission date, and reminds LEAs of other resources and best practices to support literacy screening. For additional information, please see the NJDOE’s broadcast memo.
