New Jersey

Exploring New Jersey’s Public Education System

ARIANA LEE

Quick Facts:

Total public school student population: 1.28 million
Total private school student population: 241,230
Total state public education budget: $19.2 billion
Average per pupil expenditure: $20,749
High/low per pupil expenditure within state: $24,470/$17,028
Average national per pupil expenditure: $15,114
Number of charter schools: 87
Percentage of students that charter schools serve: 4.11%
Voucher dollar amounts: $860 million
Average teacher salary: $72,515

Student demographics (race/ethnicity, English language learners, poverty rates):
White: 553,271
Black: 203,519
Hispanic: 424,169.5
Asian: 142,098
American Indian: 2,150
Hawaiian Native: 2,675
Two or more races: 34,518
Free lunch: 421,124.5
Reduced lunch: 59,187
English learners: 95,059
Military: 11,367
Homeless: 7,989

Graduation rates (total and by demographics):
White: 95%
Black: 85.7%
Hispanic: 84.8%
Asian and Hawaiian Native: 96.8%
American Indian: 89.4%
Two or more races: 92%
Economically disadvantaged students: 85%
Students with disabilities: 80.4%
Students in foster care: 55%
Military: 95%
Homeless: 73.6%

Evaluation Measures:

Accountability measures (testing, portfolios, growth, etc):
1. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is New Jersey’s state plan that describes the federally mandated accountability system that measures school-level performance against a recommended set of indicators designed to identify schools that are most in need of improvement and support.

  • An overview of all ESSA (school level) indicators: academic achievement, academic progress, graduation rate, progress toward achieving English language proficiency, school quality or student access.
    • Academic achievement: a measure of proficiency rates on statewide assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics
    • Academic progress: a measure of student growth percentiles (SGP) in English Language Arts and Mathematics
    • Graduation rate: a measure of the adjusted cohort graduation rates (four and five-year rates)
    • Progress toward achieving English language proficiency: a measure of English learner progress on the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 English language proficiency assessment
    • School quality or student access: a measure of chronic absenteeism

2. The New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) is a state-mandated, district-level accountability system that assesses district performance across the areas of instruction and program, governance, operations, and fiscal and personnel.

3. Federal law requires that Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) provide information that students, parents, and community members need to get involved and help improve their own schools.

Consequences for failing to meet standards—for students, teachers, administrators, and schools:
1. For students who have failed to demonstrate proficiency on the English Language Arts and/or Mathematics components of the State graduation proficiency test, they have the opportunity to do the following:

  • Remediation in accordance with N.J.S.A 18A:7C-3
    • Any 12th grade student who has met all the credit, curriculum, and attendance requirements should be eligible for a comprehensive assessment of said proficiencies employing techniques and instruments other than standardized tests.
  • One or more additional opportunities to demonstrate proficiency on the State proficiency test in accordance with N.J.S.A 18A:7C-6
    • The State graduation proficiency test should be administered to all 11th grade pupils or 12th grade pupils who have previously failed to demonstrate mastery of State graduation proficiency standards on said test.

Testing or proficiency graduation requirements:
1. Participation in the local program of study of not fewer than 120 credits in courses designed to meet all of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS), including but not limited to the following credits:

  • At least 20 credits in English Language Arts, aligned to grade 9 through 12 standards.
  • At least 15 credits in Mathematics, including Algebra I; and a third year of Mathematics that builds on the concepts and skills of Algebra and Geometry.
  • At least 15 credits in Science, including at least 5 credits in laboratory biology/life sciences; 1 additional laboratory/inquiry-based science course, which should include Chemistry, Environmental Science, or Physics; and 1 last laboratory/inquiry-based Science course in the fourth year of study.
  • At least 15 credits in Social Studies, including satisfaction of N.J.S.A 18A:35-1 and 5 credits in world history; and the integration of Civics, Economics, Geography, and Global content in all course offerings.
    • N.J.S.A 18A:35-1 ensures that students should take a suitable two-year course of study in the history of the United States, including the history of New Jersey.
  • At least 2.5 credits in Financial, Economic, Business, and Entrepreneurial literacy.
  • At least 3.75 credits in Health, Safety, and Physical Education during each year of enrollment, distributed as 150 minutes per week.
  • At least 5 credits in visual and performing arts.
  • At least 5 credits in world languages.
  • Technological literacy, consistent with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS), integrated throughout the curriculum.
  • At least 5 credits in 21st century life and careers, or career-technical education.

2. Cut scores that were approved by the New Jersey State Board of Education on February 2, 2022:

  • English Language Arts: New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment > 750 (Graduation ready).
  • Mathematics: New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment > 750 (Graduation ready).

Teacher evaluation methods and measures:
1. Teacher evaluation consists of two primary components: teacher practice and student achievement.

  • Teacher practice: measured primarily by classroom observations.
  • Student achievement: measured by Student Growth Objectives (SGO) and Student Growth Percentiles (SGP) for teachers of students who take state exams.

2. The Office of Charter Schools recommends that charter schools’ evaluation systems include the following components:

  • Multiple measures of performance to evaluate teachers, including student achievement as well as teacher price.
  • A method for calculating a summative evaluation rating that combines the multiple measures of teacher practice and student achievement.
  • Sample of the teacher practice instrument to be used in classroom observations: Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching.

Specifics About the Curriculum:

Adoption of the Common Core:
1. The Common Core was first adopted by the New Jersey State Board of Education in 2010 and was further developed by educators, governors, and states across the nation.

  • The Common Core provides instruction that encourages engaged and active learning through hands-on experiences and student-led work that mirrors the experiences that students will encounter in college or in a career.
  • New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS): a roadmap that details what skills students must learn in each grade respective grade level.
    • Example 1: Second grade students should know how to read and comprehend different forms of literature, including drama and poetry.
    • Example 2: Seniors in high school should be able to analyze different interpretations of the same poem or play, with Shakespeare now included as a requirement.

Adoption of Next Generation Science Standards:
1. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) was first adopted by the New Jersey State Board of Education in 2014.

  • New Jersey requires that all students complete a total of 15 credits of lab-based science courses, including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Environmental Science as well as 1 additional lab-based Science course.
  • The New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) assesses Science in grades 4 and 8, with 40% of the exam evaluating Life Science, 30% Physical Science, and 30% Earth Science.

Teacher Life:

Presence of teachers unions/collective bargaining (e.g. AFT/NEA):
1. New Jersey Education Association (NJEA): This is the premier labor union in the nation for serious educators and support professionals who want to secure and advance their careers.

  • Mission statement of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA): “Advance and protect the rights, benefits, and interests of members and promote a quality system of public education for all students.”

2. American Federation of Teachers New Jersey (AFTNJ): This is a federation of 30,000 education workers in prekindergarten through grade 12 and higher education union locals.

  • Mission statement for American Federation of Teachers New Jersey (AFTNJ): “Support and cooperate with organized labor and to promote within the autonomous locals of the AFTNJ policies and procedures consistent with the aims of organized labor.”

Merit pay for teachers (in state or district):
1. New Jersey implemented the state’s first merit pay plan for teachers in Newark public schools. This merit pay plan provided teacher bonuses of up to $12,500, which was awarded in three stages: teachers could be awarded $5,000 for being rated highly effective, another $5,000 could be earned for finding employment at a poor performing school, and $2,500 could be earned for teaching hard-to-staff subjects.

  • 17 teachers out of the 3,200 teachers in the district earned the top bonus level of $12,500.

Data Analysis:

In two to three paragraphs, address the following questions:
1. Based on the data you’ve collected, why do inequalities persist in your state?

2. What evidence did you see of the state addressing or overcoming inequities?

The quality of education that is provided by New Jersey’s public education system is inarguably like no other. New Jersey’s public education system is recognized nationally for providing students with an invaluable learning experience that helps them achieve long-term success and self-enrichment. With that being said, New Jersey’s public education system yields results that are representative of its high-quality arrangement: academic performances are top-tier, class sizes are manageable, test scores are superior, and most importantly New Jersey’s public schools are safe. However, inequities still persist throughout New Jersey’s public schools. 

Relevant data reveals that racial segregation as well as income inequality continue to threaten the prosperity of New Jersey’s public schools. While the state achieves impressive scores in English Language Arts and Mathematics annually, there is still an overwhelming lack of funding and resources that go into supporting predominantly Black and Hispanic/Latinx neighborhoods. It most certainly is no coincidence that New Jersey’s Black and Hispanic students are enrolled in school districts with lower tax capacity, which is usually a result of racist practices such as “redlining” creating segregated communities with artificially lower property values. The issue of persistent income inequality in New Jersey prevents students of all demographics from accessing equal educational opportunities. Structural racism continues to grant supreme authority to policymakers who prioritize the educational wellbeing of wealthier and more advantaged White students. Structural racism also creates both racial segregation and school funding inequity, which negatively influences majority-Black and Hispanic school districts. These districts recognizably have far less local capacity to raise revenues for their local public schools than their nearby majority-White districts. New Jersey’s public education system provides different resources and materials for Black and Hispanic students, hindering those students’ abilities to score higher on standardized tests or gain admission to more prestigious universities and colleges that their white counterparts gain admission to. Inadequate funding to public schools in predominantly Black or Hispanic neighborhoods prevents those students from receiving fundamental resources like laptops, access to high-speed internet, textbooks, and more. To provide a more concrete image of the severity of New Jersey’s segregation problem, almost half of all Black students and more than 40 percent of all Hispanic students in New Jersey attend schools that are overwhelmingly segregated. With those populations already attending apartheid schools, Black and Hispanic students are forcibly encountering extreme racial and socioeconomic isolation, which are two factors that contribute to reducing their prospects of educational success. 

New Jersey lawmakers are aiming to address the inequities that exist in the public education system by introducing legislation that targets segregation and promotes greater integration efforts. The Senate Education Committee has narrowly approved a new bill, Bill S820, which would establish a Division of School Desegregation within the state education department. This division would examine the level of racial and socioeconomic segregation in New Jersey’s public schools, analyze its impact on student development, and establish a plan to encourage integration. New Jersey’s constitution, which was enacted in 1947, just seven short years before Brown v. Board of Education, explicitly forbids segregation in the state’s public schools. However, this provision as well as the state’s anti-discrimination laws have failed to prevent the steady, decades-long creep of de facto segregation. This issue has brought to light the many challenges that come with finding an appropriate solution for combating racial and socioeconomic inequities in New Jersey’s public schools. There is no definitive one-remedy-solves-all solution that can completely eliminate the situation. However, lawmakers believe that establishing magnet schools, enforcing interdistrict desegregation, and regionalizing districts can provide a foundation for slow growth and improvement. These magnet schools would draw from a wider range of students beyond the local district, thus hand-picking talented students from all demographics and backgrounds. Interdistrict desegregation would allow students to attend a public school that is outside of their home district, thus opening students up to a more equitable and diverse assortment of resources, opportunities, and connections. Regionalization or consolidating existing districts into fewer, larger districts would ensure that resources are put to better use by promoting a smaller number of schools with more equal representation of races. These schools would then have access to a more equitable  allocation of per pupil funding, quality teachers, better infrastructure, stronger learning programs, and more diverse co-curricular opportunities. 

In two to three paragraphs, address the following questions:
1. Describe and analyze one particular trend or education-specific event in your state.

2. Make sure to contextualize this trend or event within the big picture you’ve created from your data analysis.

With the pandemic transforming learning from an in-person experience to a virtual experience, New Jersey’s public schools have seen a subsequent decrease in enrollment over the course of the last two years. Especially in the 2020-2021 academic year, newly released state Department of Education data reveals that there were 41,351 fewer students enrolled in New Jersey’s public schools compared with the 2019-2020 academic year. Interestingly enough, the enrollment numbers for state-run preschools decreased by approximately 13,100, while those of kindergarten students decreased by 8,300. The central rationale for this drop in enrollment numbers being working parents finding it difficult to work around virtual instruction as well as the timing of half and full-day programs. New Jersey’s laws do not enforce the enrollment of children in the three to five age group in preschool or kindergarten programs. Therefore, parents have the autonomy to act based on what they think is the right thing to do for their young children. It is completely valid for parents to dislike the idea of having their young children spend so many hours in front of a computer screen, especially when the expectation is that learning should be immersive, collaborative, interactive, and hands-on. When schools were obligated to move online during the pandemic, many parents chose to send their children elsewhere. Some parents decided to pull their children out of public schools and send them to private schools, which continued to offer in-person instruction, or homeschool them. Unfortunately, the largest decrease occurred among the economically disadvantaged students, where enrollment numbers dropped 10.02 percent. In comparison, enrollment among non-economically disadvantaged students dropped marginally by 1.33 percent. However, the enrollment of white students was hit the hardest with it falling more than four percent.  

This trend sheds light on the bigger picture that my data analysis provides. The conversion of learning from an in-person experience to a virtual learning experience has worsened the inequities that persist in New Jersey’s public education system. More wealthier White individuals have access to easier mobility, as they can effortlessly disenroll their children from public schools and finance their childrens’ private education and extracurricular activities. Low-income Black and Hispanic students find themselves at a constant disadvantage, as they are unable to afford the privilege of paying tuition for a private school with greater isolation measures, faculty, resources, and technology, especially during the height of the pandemic. While education is a commodity that wealthier White individuals invest heavily in, low-income Black and Hispanic individuals do not possess the same luxury that they have. Education is seen as a privilege and a way in which low-income students may exit the vicious cycle of poverty. Furthermore, the pandemic has forced many low-income Black and Hispanic students out of the public education system. Especially with unemployment increasing to a peak and economic instability taking over, many low-income students found themselves in a position where they were unable to afford basic necessities. With their parents working minimum wage jobs, putting food on the table and paying rent came at a cost: the unfortunate cost of trading learning for working. Many of these low-income students were forced to throw themselves on the front-line, even during the height of the pandemic to make money for their families. The sad reality is that inequities in New Jersey’s public education system are holding low-income students back from reaching their full academic potential. With poverty being a central factor behind disadvantaged learning, these low-income students are forced to pit education against the ability to afford basic necessities. 

Sources:

State of New Jersey Department Education Data and Reports Portal:
https://www.nj.gov/education/

New Jersey Policy Perspective:
https://www.njpp.org/publications/report/separate-and-unequal-racial-and-ethnic-segregation-and-the-case-for-school-funding-reparations-in-new-jersey/

Justia U.S. Law:
https://law.justia.com/new-jersey/

Politico:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/03/new-jersey-school-inequity-problems-425494

New Jersey Spotlight News:
https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2022/02/nj-school-segregation-sen-joe-cryan-desegregation-division-moral-obligation-no-overnight-fix/

JerseyCan:
https://commoncore.jerseycan.org/