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Newark students made incremental progress on their spring 2024 mathematics and reading standardized state tests, but still lagged behind statewide proficiency averages and their own pre-pandemic scores, according to new data released by the state this week.
“The statewide assessment results serve as a rich source of data for determining areas of need,” Acting Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer said at a state school board meeting on Wednesday during a presentation of the results. “We know these results do not fully describe the complexities of the depth and breadth of a child’s complete learning experience, but these data are important and help us understand overall performance trends.”
The New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, commonly referred to as NJSLA, are administered annually in the spring for grades 3-9 in English language arts and math. The tests were not given to students in the spring of 2020 or 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning.
This year’s scores mark the third time state tests were administered for New Jersey since the pandemic and an overview of results show a continued gradual increase after scores plummeted in 2022. That drastic dip — which put student proficiency averages well behind 2019 rates — prompted education leaders and advocates to underscore the need for high-impact tutoring and more professional development to help teachers learn how they can improve students’ literacy skills.
More than half, or 52.2%, of New Jersey students met or exceeded proficiency standards in English language arts on the spring 2024 tests, an increase of nearly one percentage point from 2023 and 3.3 percentage points from 2022. This year’s rate is still behind the 2019 proficiency rate of 57.6% by 5.3 percentage points, according to the state’s analysis.
In math, about 39.6% of students statewide met or exceeded proficiency standards on the 2024 test, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from spring 2023 and 4.2 percentage points from 2022. That rate is also still behind the 2019 proficiency rate of 44.7% by 5.1 percentage points.
Meanwhile, across Newark traditional public and charter schools — which are publicly funded but privately managed — the proficiency rate was 39.3% for English language arts and 23.8% for math in 2024, according to a Chalkbeat analysis.
The story continues after the data graphic.
Between Newark’s literacy proficiency rate average and the state’s average, there’s a 12.9 percentage point gap, showing city schools are still lagging behind statewide averages. Similarly, there’s a 15.8 percentage point gap for math.
In an overview of Newark Public Schools’ test scores earlier this fall, Superintendent Roger León or other school leaders highlighted the district’s efforts in the last few years to increase tutoring during school, as well as summer and Saturday school efforts and a new English language arts curriculum.
Gaps persist among student groups
A look at subgroups at the state level showed students with disabilities and English language learners are about 20 percentage points or more behind the overall student averages in reading and math, a state analysis showed.
The gaps also persist among racial groups, according to the state. There was an approximate 45 percentage point gap in proficiency rates on the English language arts exams between Black students, who averaged a 35.6 proficiency rate, and Asian American students, who scored above the state average at 80.9%.
“It’s extremely frustrating to know that after all the investments, the number of programs over the years, this achievement gap is persistent and still remains significant,” state board member Arcelio Aponte said at the meeting. “What do we do moving forward? Is there anything that we have not tried as of yet?”
State administrative officials said the literacy bill package Gov. Phil Murphy signed over the summer will create an office within the education department dedicated to finding answers to those questions. The Office of Learning Equity and Academic Recovery is set to be active by early next year.
The story continues after the data table.
Some Newark schools exceed state reading proficiency rates
A Chalkbeat data analysis of Newark’s test scores showed some bright spots throughout city schools, where proficiency rates at certain schools are meeting or exceeding the state’s averages and pre-pandemic scores.
A look at third grade reading scores among district schools showed Park Elementary School reached a 58.7% proficiency rate, above the state and city averages for English language arts and surpassing its 2019 rate of 32.4%. About 45.5% of Ivy Hill Elementary third graders reached reading proficiency scores. The two district schools exceeded the state’s third grade average reading proficiency rate of 44%.
Four city charter schools’ third graders also exceeded the state’s reading proficiency average, including North Star Academy, Gray, Maria L. Varisco-Rogers, and Robert Treat charter schools.
The analysis also shows where proficiency rates lag even further behind. Less than 10% of third graders at eight district elementary schools met proficiency standards for reading on grade level. For example, 5% of third graders at Camden Street School are reading on grade level, meaning the vast majority of third graders at that school are not meeting proficiency standards in English language arts.
The other seven schools with similar rates included Thirteenth Avenue, Avon Avenue, Hawkins, George Washington Carver, Peshine, Sussex, and Quitman elementary schools.
Correction: Dec. 9, 2024: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the percentage change in proficiency rates on the English language arts and math state tests comparing 2024 results to the last two years.
Catherine Carrera is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Newark. Contact Catherine at ccarrera@chalkbeat.org.
