Governor Mikie Sherrill • Lt. Governor Shirley U. Emehelu

Streamlined Portfolio Appeals Option

As part of the Third Pathway — Graduation Portfolio Appeal, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) offers streamlined portfolio appeal options for students who meet specific criteria. Students may qualify for a streamlined portfolio appeal by:

  • Meeting or exceeding the minimum Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Armed Forces Qualification Test (ASVAB AFQT) score of 35;
  • Earning a qualifying Industry-Valued Credential (IVC); or
  • Completing a qualifying Work-Based Learning (WBL) experience.

These options may be used by local education agencies (LEAs) and approved private schools for students with disabilities (APSSDs) in conjunction with the existing portfolio appeals process to support students in demonstrating graduation readiness in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics.

The streamlined portfolio appeals option allows for a reduction in the quantity of portfolio appeals constructed response tasks that would need to be submitted for eligible students by 50 percent per content area. The constructed response task requirements for the streamlined portfolio appeals submission are as follows:

  • For a student who qualifies for a streamlined ELA portfolio appeal:
    • One reading task (either literary or informational) must be successfully completed; and
    • One writing task (either informative/explanatory, argument, or narrative) must be successfully completed.
  • For a student who qualifies for a streamlined mathematics portfolio appeal:
    • One task evidencing “4. Model with mathematics” (representing one of the five conceptual categories not used for the second task) must be successfully completed; and
    • One task evidencing either “2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively” or “3. Construct viable arguments” (representing one of the five conceptual categories not used for the first task) must be successfully completed.

Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Armed Forces Qualification Test (ASVAB AFQT)

Eligibility

Clearly indicate in the student’s EPP that the streamlined portfolio appeal option based on earning a qualifying IVC is being used, consistent with current portfolio appeals guidance.

For More Information
  • Review the two broadcasts released on November 4, 2026 related to the portfolio appeals process which are available on the NJDOE Broadcasts webpage.
  • Review the Industry-Valued Credential List which is available on the CTE Program of Study section of the Career Readiness webpage under Resources.
  • Review the 2026-2027 Industry-Valued Credentials for Streamlined Appeals list (forthcoming) for the specific codes needed for the data spreadsheet.

Work-Based Learning

Eligibility

Students who complete a qualifying WBL experience may use the streamlined portfolio appeal option. For purposes of the streamlined portfolio appeal option, WBL experiences that may qualify the student for the streamlined portfolio appeals option must be categorized as either Career Preparation or Career Training.

These WBL categories and their associated requirements (including definitions, minimum hours, supervision, and documentation) are described in the Work-Based Learning Handbook which is available on the Work-Based Learning section of the Career Readiness webpage. Refer to the WBL Experience Requirement Snapshot chart in the handbook which provides additional details on levels of WBL and eligible experiences.

For WBL experiences submitted in the Student Course Roster submission, please note that SCED codes that end in 48 or 98 are identified in NJSLEDS as workplace experience courses and may support determining whether a course aligns with Career Preparation or Career Training under NJDOE guidance.

For each student using the WBL streamlined option, the LEA or APSSD must verify that WBL experience:

  • Aligns to either career preparation or career training, as defined in the Work-Based Learning Handbook; and
  • Meets all applicable requirements under N.J.A.C. 6A:19-4 and NJDOE WBL guidance.

Students who meet or exceed the minimum required ASVAB AFQT score of 35 qualify for the streamlined portfolio appeal option to demonstrate graduation readiness.

Documentation Expectations

For each student using the ASVAB streamlined option, the LEA or APSSD must:

  • Maintain a copy of the ASVAB AFQT score in the student’s local portfolio appeal file.
  • Clearly indicate in the student’s Education Proficiency Plan (EPP) that the streamlined portfolio appeal option based on a qualifying ASVAB AFQT score is being used, consistent with current portfolio appeals guidance.
For More Information
  • Review the two broadcasts released on November 4, 2026 related to the portfolio appeals process which are available on the NJDOE Broadcasts webpage.
  • Review the Frequently Asked Questions section of the Graduation Assessment Requirements webpage under Third Pathway—Graduation Portfolio Appeal.

Industry-Valued Credential

Eligibility

Students who earn a qualifying Industry-Valued Credential (IVC) may use the streamlined portfolio appeal option. For purposes of the streamlined portfolio appeal option, only Tier II IVCs that appear on the NJDOE-approved list meet the criteria. Tier I credentials do not qualify for this option.

For each student using the IVC streamlined option, the LEA or APSSD must verify that:

  • The student has successfully earned an IVC identified as Tier II; and
  • The credential appears on the current NJDOE-approved IVC list for the applicable school year.

Documentation Expectations

For each student using the IVC streamlined option, the LEA or APSSD must:

  • Maintain copy of the IVC certificate or official documentation showing the student’s attainment in the student’s local portfolio appeal file.

For each student using the WBL streamlined option, the LEA or APSSD must:

  • Maintain copy of the IVC certificate or official documentation showing the student’s attainment in the student’s local portfolio appeal file.
  • Clearly indicate in the student’s EPP that the streamlined portfolio appeal option based on earning a qualifying IVC is being used, consistent with current portfolio appeals guidance.

For each student using WBL to access the streamlined portfolio appeal option, the district should maintain:

  • Maintain a copy of the following in the student’s local portfolio appeal file:
    • The completed training agreement and individualized student training plan.
    • Documentation that the experience is categorized as career preparation or career training under NJDOE guidance.
    • Records documenting hours, placement site, supervision, and evaluation, consistent with requirements in the WBL Handbook.
  • Clearly indicate in the student’s EPP that the streamlined portfolio appeal option based on completing a qualifying WBL is being used, consistent with current portfolio appeals guidance.
For More Information
Page Last Updated: 11/09/2026