Closing Gaps in New Jersey’s Urban Districts
Students in many of New Jersey’s low-income,
urban districts have made great strides. The New Jersey
Supreme Court, in Abbott v. Burke IV and V,
ordered the state to implement a set of remedies for
school reform, including preschool, school facilities
construction, student and family support, funding parity
with the average in suburban districts, and K-12 standards-based
reform. A new report
by the Education Law Center highlights progress and
challenges that can be used to hold the state and school
districts accountable for the implementation and results
of these reforms. (Background here.)
Preschool and Elementary Education
On the whole, preschool and elementary school students
have displayed the greatest gains in the past five years.
The Abbott preschool program features full-day, full-year
services, a certified teacher and assistant in each
class of no more than 15, and developmentally-appropriate
curricula. Between 1999-2000 and 2004-05, enrollment
rose from 19,000 to about 40,000 students, and almost
all teachers now have college degrees and early childhood
certification. A 2005 study shows that the Abbott preschool
program has strengthened the children’s language,
and literacy and math skills development, important
aspects of school readiness.
The test score gap between 4th-grade children in Abbott
and non-Abbott districts narrowed during this time period,
as well. Between 2000-01 and 2004-05, the percentage
of students proficient on the language arts literacy
test rose from 63 to 77 percent, while the proficiency
levels in other poor districts and all non-Abbott districts
remained largely the same. In math, the percent of proficient
students climbed from 36 to 72 percent between 1998-99
and 2004-05; during that time, the statewide percentage
improved from 66 to 86 percent.
Secondary Education
Despite these gains, the report indicates that many
challenges still remain for the task of improving the
performance of older students. Scores on the 8th grade
language arts literacy test for all districts dropped
between 1999 and 2004-05. The percentage of eighth graders
proficient in math improved slightly, rising from 36
to 42 percent, while statewide, scores remained stable
at 70 percent.
From 2002 to 2005, among eleventh graders, the percentage
of students proficient in language arts rose from 72
to 79, while the statewide average remained around 90
percent. During that same time, math proficiency increased
from 46 to 59 percent among Abbott students, and from
83 to 90 percent statewide.
Recommendations
Other difficulties that must be addressed include the
need to increase preschool enrollment, from the current
78 percent of eligible students to the targeted 90 percent.
As part of the plan for whole school reform, more Abbott
districts need to employ parent liaisons, teacher tutors,
and attendance officers. Furthermore, high school student
persistence and troubling graduation rates in some districts
must be improved.
The report provides several recommendations for building
on past success. Reforms in preschool and early literacy
must be sustained, while a new reform initiative aimed
at Abbott middle and high schools must be fully financially
supported. The report also calls for the state legislature
to provide stability in program standards and procedures
throughout the period of implementation.
One of the report’s main emphases is the need
for accountability. The Abbott Indicators Project, from
which the report stems, is designed to establish indicators
to assess student outcomes and the progress of urban
school reform, develop a local and statewide constituency
to understand the indicators and use them to advocate
for school improvements, and sustain these accountability
practices. At this point in time, the Project calls
for a detailed strategy from the Department of Education
(DOE) and Commissioner of Education for managing state
funds allocated to DOE to support urban education reform
and assess implementation of supplemental programs.
Furthermore, the report says, the state should examine
the handful of districts with persistently low performance
and develop a comprehensive evaluation for the Abbott
reforms.
As other states tackle thorny issues in urban education
on a large scale, the successes and challenges of New
Jersey’s implementation of education and school
funding reforms stand as an example for improving outcomes
for low-income students.
Prepared by Katherine Lu, March 13, 2006
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