Testing has long been a part of the educational system. Common examples of high-stakes testing in the United States include standardized tests administered to measure school progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), high school exit exams, and the use of test scores to determine whether or not a school will retain accreditation. Although the outcome of a standardized test should be only one of many things taken into account when evaluating a student, ALA students will be expected to perform well on a variety of assessments:

• The annual Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) is a standards-based assessment used to measure a student's attainment of the academic standards while also determining the degree to which school programs enable students to attain proficiency of the standards. Every Pennsylvania student in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11 is assessed in reading and math.  Every Pennsylvania student in grades 5, 8 and 11 is assessed in writing.

• The SAT Reasoning Test is a three-hour examination that measures verbal and mathematical reasoning. Many colleges and universities use SAT results as part of the data on which they base admissions decisions.