Good News: New Jersey's Public Schools

New Jersey's public schools educate approximately 1.4 million children. Public education constitutes the largest single government-funded operation in our state.

However, too often we hear negative comments about public education, whether in the form of an off-hand remark or inaccurate information stated as fact.

It's time to set the record straight. Below are studies, research and facts about the strength of New Jersey's public schools. And the fact is New Jersey's public schools are among the best in the nation in so many benchmarks of success. Certainly, boards of education must continually strive to improve our schools, but, with our fellow New Jerseyans, we should also celebrate our success.

Sincerely yours,

Harry J. Delgado, President
New Jersey School Boards Association

• The nation's best high-school graduation rate: New Jersey public schools continue to have the highest graduation rate in the nation, according to "Diplomas Count 2009," a report in Education Week magazine. The graduation rate, defined as the ratio of higher schoolers who graduate in four years, is 82.1% in New Jersey—while the national average is 69.2%. (Source: Education Week)



• Among the nation's best reading scores: New Jersey ranks among the best in the nation—tied for second—in the fourth-grade reading scores of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the "Nation's report card." In eighth-grade reading, New Jersey tied for fourth best in the nation. (Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress)



• Leading the nation in writing scores : New Jersey eighth graders topped the nation in writing, according to results from the NAEP writing tests. Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress)



• A leader in academic achievement: Quality Counts 2009, a report from Education Week magazine, rated the academic achievement of New Jersey's K-12 students – and New Jersey students' chance for success as they move from school into the workforce – among the top three states in the nation. Source: Education Week.



• Among the nation's best math scores: New Jersey ranks among the top states in the nation in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which compares test results among states. New Jersey fourth graders tied for second highest in math, and the Garden State tied at sixth in eighth-grade math scores. (Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress)

• Quality Education: Nearly nine out of 10 parents say they are satisfied with their local public schools and more than half said they were "very satisfied," according to a Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers poll, "Public Education in New Jersey: Good and Getting Better." (Source: Eagleton Institute of Politics)



• College preparation: The number of New Jersey public school students taking an Advanced Placement (AP) course, which allows high school students to earn college credit, has increased 69 percent from 2000 to 2007. New Jersey students' AP scores are also high, as New Jersey ranked fourth in the nation in the percentage of students (71%) who scored a grade 3 or higher, which qualifies for college credit. (Source: The College Board, National Report, Exams by State)
  

  A state-by-state report, "Measuring Up," gave New Jersey's public school system high marks as to how well it prepares students for college. New Jersey was one of only six states to receive an "A" in college preparation. (Source: National Center for Public Policy and Education)

  New Jersey has been named among the top four "smartest states" in the nation based on the quality of its Pre K-12 public education. (Source: Education State Rankings, Morgan Quitno)

• Spending less on administration: New Jersey public schools are spending less on administration, ranking 38th in the nation in the percentage of its public school expenditures devoted to school administration. And, while the number of New Jesey teachers and students have grown about 30% since 1990, the number of school administrators has grown 1.8% in the same timefram. (Sources: National Center for Education Statistics and New Jersey Department of Education's Vital Education Statistics).



• Safe schools, safe students: Schools continue to see a decrease in violent incidents, according to the report, "Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse in New Jersey Schools." Seventy percent of New Jersey schools reported five or fewer incidents of violence, vandalism and substance abuse in the most recent report; 37 percent reported no incidents at all; and none met the federal government's criteria for a "persistently dangerous" school. (Source: New Jersey State Department of Education)

The most recent New Jersey Student Health Survey found fewer students have smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol, used drugs, had sex or carried weapons. (Source: New Jersey Department of Education)

• College attendance: Nearly 85 percent of New Jersey high school graduates plan to continue their education after high school—the highest percentage ever. That figure is significantly higher than the nationwide average, according to statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics(Sources: New Jersey State Department of Education, Vital Education Statistics, Section IV)

New Jersey's SAT scores in both verbal and math have been increasing. Average verbal scores (508) are the highest in years; average math scores (520) are the higest ever. (Source: The College Board, New Jersey State Profile)

• Putting resources into the educational program: The ratio of pupils to teachers in New Jersey's public schools, 12.7 to 1, is significantly lower than the national average of nearly 16 to 1 and is among the four best states in the nation. (Source: U.S. Department of Education, Digest of Education Statistics).



• Scholastic Aptitude Test: New Jersey students' participation rate in the SAT was among the highest in the nation; 86% of New Jersey's seniors took the SAT, far higher than the national average of 49% (Source:Department of Education, Digest of Education Statistics )



• Technology: The percentage of New Jersey classrooms with Internet access has increased from 72% in 2000 to nearly 94% in 2003. In addition, 58% of schools now offer educational technology activities and programs to families and the community. (Source: New Jersey State Department of Education)

The Big Picture The following information about schools nationwide provides helps to provide an accurate picture of public education today:

• Weighing indicators of quality education—the dropout rate, number of students taking high-level courses, and pupils' scores in science, math, and college admissions tests—students today have made substantial progress since the early 1980s.(Source: Do You Know the Good News About American Education?, Center for Education Policy and American Youth Policy Forum).
  
  
• School violence in public schools has decreased dramatically during the past decade, with thefts and the violent crime rate in schools dropping by approximately half, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Education. (Source:Indicators of School Crime and Safety)



• The 2008 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools finds a continued support of local public schools, with 72% of parents giving a grade of A or B to the school their own child attends—the highest rate in 15 years. (Source: Phi Delta Kappan). Moreover, parents are far more likely to say local school boards—not the state or federal governments—should determine what is taught in the classroom.



• A Family Life Magazine survey found that, even though parents have concerns about American schools overall, they believe by resounding margins that their local public schools are very good.
  
  
• Findings by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan, nonprofit public opinion research organization, show that new teachers overwhelmingly say teaching is work they love to do.