71% of Schools Make Adequate Progress

Almost 71 percent of the 2,209 New Jersey schools in which state tests were administered this spring met the standards for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), state Department of Education officials announced Tuesday.

A preliminary analysis of test results showed that 643 schools did not make AYP. Last year, 822 schools did not meet the AYP benchmarks.

The number of schools that did not make AYP for two or more consecutive years—and which, therefore, were placed on the “Schools in Need of Improvement” list—increased to 574 (23.7 percent), up from 544 (22.7 percent) in 2005.

High Standards “...it’s important for schools, parents and the public to understand that the New Jersey DOE doesn’t regard AYP as the only measurement of student achievement or progress,” said Commissioner of Education Lucille E. Davy. “We have very high expectations and very high standards here.”