New Jersey high schools — like those in most states — are not doing enough to prepare students for college or careers, according to a report recently released by Achieve Inc., a Washington-based nonprofit group that helps states raise their education standards. The report noted that while New Jersey is making efforts to improve its high schools, there is still much to do.

Achieve is urging New Jersey to make high school more rigorous and to use more useful standardized tests. For example, New Jersey now requires students to take three years of math to graduate from high school. Achieve wants the state to set standards for what skills the students need to learn in specific classes, such as algebra and geometry. Also, Achieve wants high school graduation tests to be rigorous enough that they can be used for college admissions and college class placement purposes, too.

All those changes are being planned or implemented, according to a progress report on high school reform that New Jersey education and business leaders compiled for Achieve.