ConnectPrep prepares students for state exams in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey — and online nationwide. Book a free consultation →
ConnectPrep prepares students for state assessments in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, California, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts — and every other state, online. Wherever you are, we know your state’s exam requirements and build a personalized prep program around them.
ConnectPrep works with students from every state to meet their specific testing requirements. Book a free consultation to get started →
State assessments are among the most consequential academic benchmarks a student will face before college. Understanding why they exist — and what is actually at stake — helps families make informed decisions about preparation.
State assessments were introduced to create a consistent, objective measure of what students are learning across thousands of schools, districts, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Before standardized state tests, there was no reliable way to compare student achievement or identify which schools and districts needed additional academic support.
Today, state tests serve several important functions simultaneously. At the student level, they benchmark academic progress against grade-level standards and identify areas that need more attention before the next school year or course. At the school level, results inform curriculum decisions, resource allocation, and teacher support programs. At the state level, assessment data drives education policy, funding decisions, and accountability for districts receiving public funding.
For families, state test results are one of the clearest independent signals of where a student actually stands — separate from course grades, which can vary widely from school to school and teacher to teacher.
New York has one of the most structured state testing systems in the country. ConnectPrep prepares students for every NYS assessment — from the early grades all the way through the Regents Examinations required for high school graduation. Our instructors know the specific curricula of local Fairfield County, Westchester, and Nassau/Suffolk school districts inside out.
The NYSTP Common Core aligned assessments measure student performance in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Students in 4th and 8th grade also take the New York State Science test. ConnectPrep’s prep focuses on the exact question formats and content strands tested at each grade level.
Regents Examinations are standardized exams covering specific core high school subjects. Passing these exams is required to receive a Regents Diploma and graduate. ConnectPrep prepares students for every Regents exam — including English, Math (Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry), Global History, US History, and Science.
★ With Honors: Added to either diploma option for students who average a score of 90 or more across all required Regents exams.
Start NYS Regents Prep →ConnectPrep is based in Westport, CT — giving our team deep, firsthand familiarity with Fairfield County school systems, curricula, and the specific state assessments that students in Connecticut face. In addition, we serve students in every Connecticut district online.
The CSB is Connecticut’s primary statewide assessment for grades 3–8, measuring proficiency in English Language Arts and Mathematics. ConnectPrep’s prep aligns directly to your student’s grade-level standards and targets the specific question formats and performance tasks on the exam.
Assesses students’ understanding of scientific concepts and practices. ConnectPrep prepares students at all three tested grade levels — covering physical science, life science, and earth and space science aligned to NGSS standards.
All Connecticut 11th graders take the SAT during the school day as a state graduation assessment. ConnectPrep’s Digital SAT prep program prepares students for both this state requirement and college admissions simultaneously.
New Jersey’s state assessment system runs from grade 3 through high school graduation. The NJGPA is a key graduation requirement, and the NJSLA measures annual proficiency across ELA, Math, and Science. ConnectPrep prepares students for every level of NJ testing — serving Nassau and Suffolk County families as well as NJ online.
The NJSLA-ELA and NJSLA-M measure proficiency in English Language Arts and Mathematics for grades 3–8. The NJSLA-S measures science understanding in grades 5, 8, and 11. All assessments align to New Jersey Student Learning Standards. ConnectPrep builds prep directly around your student’s current grade-level performance.
The NJGPA is administered to high school students and must be passed as a graduation requirement in New Jersey. It measures proficiency in ELA, Mathematics, and Science based on New Jersey Student Learning Standards. ConnectPrep prepares students specifically for the NJGPA’s format and content requirements.
ConnectPrep prepares students for state assessments across the country — entirely online. Below are examples of major state programs we support. No matter which state your student is in, we can identify the specific assessments they face and build a prep program around them.
Every state has its own assessment system, grade-level requirements, and performance standards. ConnectPrep’s instructors research your state’s specific testing framework and build a personalized prep program around your student’s exact exam — whether that’s Illinois’s IAR, Georgia’s Georgia Milestones, Virginia’s SOL, Colorado’s CMAS, or any other state assessment. We also work with families navigating SAT School Day, ACT, AP Exams, and national tests that run alongside state requirements.
ConnectPrep is based in Westport, CT and serves NY, CT, and NJ students in person — but through live online sessions, we prepare students for state testing requirements in every state nationwide. No matter where you live, we build a personalized prep program around your student’s specific state assessment, grade level, and upcoming exam date. Below are examples of the state assessments we commonly support.
The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) is a computer-adaptive progress monitoring assessment administered three times per year (PM1, PM2, PM3) aligned to Florida’s B.E.S.T. standards. ELA Reading covers grades K–10; Mathematics covers K–8. High school students also take B.E.S.T. EOC exams in Algebra 1 and Geometry, which carry graduation implications. Students in grade 10 must pass FAST ELA to graduate.
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests grades 3–8 annually in RLA and Math, with Science in grades 5 & 8 and Social Studies in grade 8. High school students must pass five EOC exams to graduate: English I, English II, Algebra I, Biology, and U.S. History. STAAR was redesigned in 2023 and is now a fully online computer-adaptive assessment.
The Georgia Milestones Assessment System includes End-of-Grade (EOG) exams in ELA and Math for grades 3–8, with Science tested at grades 5 and 8 and Social Studies at grade 8. High school students take End-of-Course (EOC) assessments in American Literature, Algebra: Concepts & Connections, Biology, and U.S. History. EOC scores count as 20% of the final course grade.
The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) measures ELA and Math for grades 3–8. The Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) tests science at select grades. High school students take the ACT Suite (ACT, PreACT, PreACT 9) as the state’s accountability assessment. In 2025, Illinois adopted new proficiency benchmarks to better align with national standards and college readiness expectations.
The MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) continues to be administered in grades 3–8 and grade 10 in ELA, Math, and Science — but as of November 2024, voters passed a ballot measure (Question 2) removing MCAS as a high school graduation requirement. Starting with the class of 2026, students earn a diploma via coursework competency instead of MCAS scores. MCAS remains an important academic benchmark, and ConnectPrep continues to offer targeted MCAS prep.
California’s statewide assessments include Smarter Balanced ELA and Math for grades 3–8 and grade 11, CAST science for grades 5, 8, and once in high school, and the CSA (California Spanish Assessment) for grades 6–7. All tests are computer-adaptive and aligned to Common Core standards. Grade 11 Smarter Balanced results serve as early indicators of college readiness.
ConnectPrep prepares students for state assessments in all 50 states through live online sessions. Just let us know your state, your student’s grade level, and the upcoming exam — and we’ll build a prep program around it. We’ve worked with students on state assessments in California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Washington, and beyond.
Get Nationwide State Test Prep →We don’t use generic study materials. Every session is built around your student’s specific state, grade level, school curriculum, and upcoming exam date.
These are real reviews from ConnectPrep families whose students prepared for state assessments in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
“Our ConnectPrep instructor helped both of my high school students with multiple NYS Regents exams. They excelled on all of the exams and we couldn’t be happier with the results. The instruction was focused, personalized, and clearly aligned to exactly what was on the tests. We will absolutely use ConnectPrep again for our younger children.”
“Our daughter was consistently scoring below grade level on the Connecticut Smarter Balanced Math assessment. After just six weeks with her ConnectPrep tutor, she jumped two levels. Her teacher noticed the difference before we even saw the official results. The sessions were totally tailored — no wasted time on things she already knew.”
“My son was anxious about his 8th grade NJSLA science exam. His tutor broke the content down in a way that actually made sense to him. He went from dreading the test to feeling genuinely confident going in. Scored in the top performance level. Couldn’t recommend ConnectPrep more highly.”
“My son failed the Algebra I Regents on the first attempt and we were genuinely worried about his diploma. His ConnectPrep instructor identified exactly where he was losing points — it was almost entirely on multi-step problems — and they drilled those specifically. He retook the exam and passed with a 78. We were so relieved and grateful.”
“We started working with ConnectPrep to prepare our 4th grader for the NYSTP ELA and Science assessments. Her tutor was warm, patient, and incredibly effective at keeping a young student engaged. She came out of the exams smiling and told us it was ‘easier than the practice.’ That’s exactly what you want to hear.”
“My daughter needed to do well on the Connecticut SAT School Day for both graduation and her college applications. ConnectPrep prepared her for both goals simultaneously, which was incredibly efficient. Her score improved by 120 points from her PSAT baseline. We felt like we got double the value.”
Start with a free consultation. We’ll identify exactly what your student needs and match them with the right instructor before you commit to anything.
