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Issue Brief

Achievement Gap - New Jersey

Scope of the Problem  factual statements on the extent of the problem in the past, current, or future

• The state released results of tests taken last spring, showing as much as a 38.4-point difference in the passing rate in third-grade language arts, between African-American and Asian students.
• Approximately 60 percent of black or African-American third-graders failed to achieve proficient scores, compared to 21.4 percent for Asian students and 31 percent for whites.

Here is a comparison between test scores from two NJ schools just 13 miles from each other; one located in Trenton and the other in Princeton.^[1]

Monument                                                            J. Witherspoon Middle School                                                                                                                                                       

Discrepancy in Test Scores  

• Language/Reading 
• 53% more students failed Language/Reading in Monument than Witherspoon.
• 36% more students were Proficient at Language/Reading at Witherspoon than Monument.
• 17% more students were Advanced Proficient in Language/Reading at Witherspoon than Monument.
• Math
• 68% more students failed Math at Monument than Witherspoon.
• 27% more students were Math Proficient at Witherspoon than Monument.
• 41% more students were Advanced Proficient in Math at Witherspoon than Monument.
• Science
• 46% more students failed Science at Monument than Witherspoon.
• 23% more students were Science Proficient at Witherspoon than Monument.
• 60% more students were Advanced Proficient in Science at Witherspoon than Monument.
• *Percent of the student body.^[2]

Past Policy & Program Milestones  key legislation and milestones including significant policy and funding shifts, major studies, etc.

•  No Child Left Behind (NCLB) 2001- Increased accountability for States, school districts and schools. Also, increased flexibility for States and local education agencies (LEAs) to use Federal education dollars; and emphasized stronger reading programs, especially for younger children.
• Increased Accountability
•  Required States to implement statewide accountability covering all public schools and students. 
•  Improved State standards in reading and Mathematics; annual testing for all students grades 3-8.
• Created State wide objectives that ensured each student would reach proficiency within 12 years.
• Schools not reaching adequate yearly progress toward reaching proficiency goals, will over time be subject to improvement, corrective actions and restructuring actions aimed at getting the school and students back on State standards. 
• More Choices for Parents and Students
• Students and Parents have the opportunity to attend a better public school within the school district.
• For students attending persistently failing schools, local education agencies (LEAs) must permit low-income students educational services -public or private- selected by the student and parents. 
•  Greater Flexibility for States, School Districts, and Schools.
•  States and schools districts had unprecedented flexibility in the use of Federal education funds.
•  Putting Reading First
• Committed to ensuring every child can read by the end of third grade.
• Reading First initiative increased Federal investment of reading instruction programs better designed to teach young children to read.^[3] 

Current Policy & Programs  summary of current policies in the form of legislation, programs, and funding

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (Obama Administration's Blueprint for Re-authorization):^[4]
• Primary Proposal: 
• College- and career readiness:  Reforms Title I. States required to align standards with college/career.
• Flexibility: Greater State flexibility on assessment, accountability, intervention etc.
• Incentives:   Rewards for high performing schools, grants for bold action.
• Competition: Grants for schools and teachers that excel in competition. 
• Consolidation:  New and stream-lined programs designed at creating well rounded education
• Equity:  Focuses on resource equity as well as equal distribution of effective teachers and leaders. 
• Key Area 
• Assessments: States required to continue annual assessments in Language and Math- monitor students status and growth as well as teacher effectiveness.   
• Accountability:  States required to make annual accountability determinations for all schools and districts. 
• Rewards: New focus on rewards of schools and school districts, including federal funds for high poverty or high performing schools. 
• Supports and Interventions: States required to identify/help three types of Challenge schools. 
• 1) Lowest performing 5% of schools--State intervention 
• 2) Next lowest 5% performing schools--warnings and possible state intervention 
• 3) Schools with persistent achievement gaps   
• Teachers and Leaders: Annual evaluations (based in part on student performance and growth); competitive grants and incentives.   
• Community Supports: Community and family engagement.  
• New Jersey's National Model for Early Learning
• Children in New Jerseys poorest school districts have benefited from high quality preschools.
•  New Jersey is one of the leading states to embrace preschool as a way for low-income children to participate in early quality learning. 

• Early learning from preK-3rd grade has made NJ have the second highest reading scores of 4th graders in the nation.

• These programs include: Small class size, researched proven effective learning curriculum and highly trained teachers. 
• These preschools are now a learning center instead of just a "day care".  
• Results from the New Jersey Early Learning Programs 
• Significantly improved in language, literacy and math.
• Experienced a reduction of repeating a grade.
• The Achievement Gap for disadvantaged and minority students has been shrunk in districts that implemented intensive literacy support at early ages. 
• High-quality learning at early ages produce long term gains.^[5] 

•   What can my state do about Early Childhood Care?
• New Jersey is under court order to implement “whole-school reform” measures, including full-day kindergarten for all five-year-olds and half-day preschool programs for all three- and four-year-olds in the state's poorest school districts (known as “Abbott Districts”). These programs are funded through Early Childhood Program Aid (ECPA), a state funding stream created in response to the Supreme Court ruling. Districts use existing community-based childcare and Head Start organizations, in addition to school districts, to deliver preschool programs. All programs from all providers must meet preschool standards developed by the New Jersey Department of Education. ^[6]
• What can my state do about improving teacher quality?
• What can my state do about improving college preparation?
• What can my state do about improving extra learning opportunities?

• Abbott Districts- In the Abbott II (1990) decision, the NJ Supreme Court found the education provided to urban school children inadequate and unconstitutional. In this and subsequent rulings, the Court ordered remedies to assure these children a constitutional education. The remedies include standards-based education supported by adequate foundation funding; supplemental K-12 programs; universal preschool education; school facilities improvements; and accountability measures.^[7]

Key Organizations contacts for public and private organizations

• Government
• Executive Branch
•  
• Legislative Branch
•  
• Judicial Branch 
•  
• Non-Profit
• Service Providing
•  
• Advocacy/Membership/Network
•  
• Foundation
•  
• Other

the below orgs. need to be organized into the above categories 

• Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ)- Giving Every Child a Chance 
• http://www.acnj.org 973.643.3876 
• State of New Jersey Department of Education (http://www.nj.gov/education/) 
• Josephine E. Hernandez, President    609-292-4469
•  Education Commission of the States (http://www.ecs.org) 
• Roger Sampson, President    303-299-3600
•  New Jersey School- Age Care Coalition (http://www.njsacc.org/index.php) 
• Diane Genco, Executive Director    908-789-0259
•  New Jersey After 3  (http://www.njafter3.org/index.php) 
• Mark Valli, President and CEO   732-246-7933
•  New Jersey Association of School Administrators (http://www.njasa.net) 
• Dr. Richard G. Bozza, Executive Director   609-599-2900
• New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association  (http://www.njpsa.org/) 
• JoAnn D. Bartoletti, Executive Director   609-860–1200

Bibliography   web sites, reports, articles, and other reference material

• Corzine hosts integration panel  - article from the Daily Princetonian 02/22/08
• Close the school achievement gap - article by the mayor of Newark Cory Booker and the civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton

• Poor students struggle no matter where they go to school in New Jersey - Press of Atlantic City 2/6/09 

Contributor(s):

this section was added by the initial researcher. It might be useful information / there might be a way to incorporate some of this info into the above sections - Landis

Possible Causes of the Achievement Gap 

• Decline of the Nuclear Family^[8]- The proportion of African American children in one-parent families for areas of concentrated poverty  is about 65%.
• In 2003 the percent of African American children born out-of-wedlock (without marriage) was a staggering 77%.
• Negative Consequences of Declining Nuclear Family:
• Family resources available to support and nurture children are lower.
• Research shows having two parents can greatly improve child's chances of success. 
• Male role models are often absent.
• Poverty/Location^[9]- The medium household income for Trenton; predominately a minority neighborhood Black (48%) Hispanic (33%) was $33,000 in 2009 opposed to $68,000 which was the NJ average.^[10]
•  Policymakers focus on improving schools must also work to improve the neighborhoods. 
• After many industrial jobs were shipped overseas, many manufacturing jobs that supported blue-collar workers were now gone.
• This led to the movement of many middle class people, leaving only the poorer families behind.
• The Mobility Factor- Many Black people have been stuck in neighborhoods deprived of social and economic capital for several generations. 
• 84% of Black children grow up in high-disadvantage neighborhoods. 

Footnotes

1. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/achievement_gap_between_rich_p.html?appSession=525113458746769 ▲
2. http://www.education.com/ ▲
3. http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/execsumm.html ▲
4. http://www.educationcounsel.com/files/Elementary_and_Secondary_Education_Acts.pdf ▲
5. http://www.acnj.org/admin.asp?uri=2081&action=15&di=1816&ext=pdf&view=yes ▲
6. http://www.subnet.nga.org/educlear/achievement/childhood/childhood_otherstates.html#nj ▲
7. http://www.edlawcenter.org/ELCPublic/AbbottvBurke/AbbottDistricts.htm ▲
8. http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICBWGAP.pdf ▲
9. http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICBWGAP.pdf ▲
10. http://www.city-data.com/city/Trenton-New-Jersey.html ▲