NJSLA Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield NJSLA facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What does domain-specific vocabulary mean in the context of informational writing? → Technical terms related to the specific subject being discussed
2. What does the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment Test serve to measure? → To help students determine their strengths and weaknesses across the subjects
3. What is the value of the expression 3a² - (b + 4) when a = 3 and b = 5? → 18
4. Why should everyone have equal access to high-quality arts education? → Lead to artistic literacy and fluency
5. On a dot plot, several dots are stacked at the value 7, and the rest are spread between 1 and 5. What does the cluster at 7 suggest? → 7 is the most frequent value in the data set.
6. Which property is illustrated by: 5 × (3 + 2) = 5 × 3 + 5 × 2? → Distributive Property
7. A data set has a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 5. A value of 65 is how many standard deviations above the mean? → 3
8. Which technique helps a writer avoid plagiarism when using information from a source? → Paraphrasing the information and including an in-text citation
9. In an informational essay, which transition word best signals that you are adding a supporting detail? → Furthermore
10. What is the role of a concluding paragraph in an informational essay? → To restate the thesis and summarize the key points without introducing new information
11. Which statistic describes how spread out the values in a data set are from the mean? → Standard deviation
12. According to the scripture, what abilities do the arts foster? → creativity, critical thinking, and innovation skills
13. According to the order of operations (PEMDAS), which operation should be performed SECOND when evaluating the expression: 48 ÷ (4 + 2) × 3 - 7? → Division
14. What is the least common multiple (LCM) of 4 and 6? → 12
15. What is the greatest common factor (GCF) of 24 and 36? → 12
16. A taxi service charges a flat fee of $3.00 plus an additional $2.50 per mile. Which expression represents the total cost, in dollars, for a ride of *m* miles? → 3 + 2.50m
17. Which testing facility offers the tools required for NJSLA exams? → NJSLA Resource Center
18. What is the value of |-8 + 3|? → 5
19. Which of the following numbers is a perfect square? → 36
20. A price increased from $40 to $50. What is the percent increase? → 25%
21. What serves as the NJSLA test's objective? → To assess students' development in correspondence to academic standards
22. What is the absolute value of -7? → 7
23. When writing an informational essay for the NJSLA, what is the primary purpose of a thesis statement? → To clearly state the main idea and guide the reader through the essay
24. In a research essay, what is the purpose of an annotated bibliography? → To briefly describe and evaluate each source used in the research
25. Which of the following is the best example of a credible source for a research-based writing task? → A peer-reviewed article from a scientific journal
26. Which law mandated that students in New Jersey's third through eighth grades take an English Language Arts and Mathematics exam? → No Child Left Behind Act
27. What is the value of 2⁵? → 32
28. What is the value of 3/4 + 1/6? → 11/12
29. What does NJSLA-ELA's entire name mean? → New Jersey Student Learning Assessment-ELA
30. Which set of numbers is arranged in order from greatest to least? → 2, 0, -3, -5