On April 6, 2021, the United States Department of Education (USED), recognizing that “we are in the midst of a pandemic that requires real flexibility,” informed the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) that the administration of Start Strong assessments in fall 2021 will satisfy the federal statewide assessment requirement to administer general assessments in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science for the 2020-2021 school year. This flexibility shall apply only to the 2020-2021 school year, and the Start Strong assessments in fall 2021 will be used in lieu of the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) that were scheduled to be administered in spring 2021, as noted in the broadcast released on April 14, 2021.