New Hampshire is one of the few states where you can legally opt your child out of the annual state test. Under RSA 193-C:6, a parent or guardian may exempt a student from the statewide assessment, which in New Hampshire is the New Hampshire Statewide Assessment System, or NH SAS. That single law shapes much of the testing conversation here, so it is worth knowing what opting out actually involves.
What NH SAS Looks Like: Format and Item Types
NH SAS is computer-adaptive, which changes how to think about it. Because the questions adjust to your child’s answers, students do not all see the same fixed set of items, so the best preview is the official NH SAS practice site rather than a promised list of question types. Plan for meaningful blocks even though the sessions are not hard-timed. The current Test Administration Manual estimates about 2 hours 15 minutes for ELA Reading and for math in grades 3 through 8, about 2 hours for ELA Writing and for science, and 3 hours 34 minutes for the grade 11 SAT with Essay. Those are scheduling estimates, not limits. ELA also comes in two parts: Reading and Writing are separate sessions, your child does not receive an ELA score until both are finished, and writing carries a special rule that lets students pause longer than the usual 20 minutes and return to keep writing.
If You Opt Out
Two things follow. Your district and you are expected to agree on an alternative educational activity for your child during the testing period, and you will not receive a score or an individual performance summary for that student. Opting out is handled locally, so the first step is to contact your child’s principal and follow the school’s process, rather than simply keeping your child home on test day.
What Your Child Would Otherwise Take
NH SAS covers English language arts and math in grades 3 through 8, and science in grades 5, 8, and the third year of high school. In grade 11, New Hampshire uses the College Board SAT School Day with Essay as its ELA and math test, and New Hampshire is one of the states that still requires the essay. Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities take the Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) alternate assessment, and English learners take ACCESS for ELLs each year. NH SAS runs on Cambium’s online system, adopted after New Hampshire moved on from Smarter Balanced.
The PACE Question
New Hampshire also carries a second identity you may have heard about: PACE, the Performance Assessment of Competency Education. It lets participating districts use locally developed, competency-based performance tasks in certain grades instead of some statewide testing, and it is why New Hampshire’s testing debates so often mention performance tasks. But it is easy to overstate. At its largest, PACE involved roughly 10,000 students across about 13 districts, out of roughly 180,000 students statewide, so for most families the standard NH SAS, SAT, DLM, and WIDA structure is still the real testing experience.
When Testing Happens
NH SAS is a spring assessment, generally given across April and May, and the grade 11 SAT School Day falls earlier in the spring. There is no separate makeup window for NH SAS: makeups happen inside the regular window, and the state suggests reserving the last couple of days for them. Exact dates are announced by your district each school year, so check the district calendar rather than relying on last year’s schedule.
Scores, and What They Mean
District practice is that NH SAS results are generally available soon after your child finishes, through the NH SAS Family Portal, which you reach with an access code plus your child’s date of birth and first name. By state policy, districts must provide families their individual NH SAS reports by the end of the school year, and writing scores commonly arrive last. For grade 11, SAT scores generally begin releasing in the weeks after the test through a College Board account. NH SAS reports a scale score and one of four achievement levels: Level 1 Below Proficient, Level 2 Approaching Proficient, Level 3 Proficient, and Level 4 Above Proficient. Equally important is what the test does not do. New Hampshire does not present NH SAS as a promotion or retention gate: its formal role is measuring academic progress and meeting school, district, state, and federal accountability requirements. If your district uses scores in any local decision, that is a local policy question worth asking about.
Practical Rules for Test Day
Students test through a secure browser, and instructional posters on the walls must be covered. Cell phones, smart watches, cameras, and electronic translation devices are not allowed during testing, and unauthorized adults cannot be in the room. Accommodations must be documented in an IEP or 504 plan, while designated supports can be set for individual need with parent consent. Results also feed New Hampshire’s public reporting and federal accountability system, including subgroup reporting, though small groups may be suppressed to protect student privacy.