New Jersey schools were rated second best in the nation for K-12 academic achievement, according to the Quality Counts 2007 report in this month’s Education Week.

New Jersey scored particularly strong in fourth and eighth grade reading and math scores, the best-in-the-nation high school graduation rate, and high Advanced Placement test scores. The study ranked Massachusetts first and Vermont third in K-12 academic achievement.

The study, which has rated states’ school systems annually over the past decade, is performed by Editorial Projects in Education, a Bethesda, Md.-based nonprofit that publishes Education Week newspaper.

“This is just one of a number of reports and studies in which New Jersey public schools have been recognized as some of the strongest performers in the nation,” said Edwina M. Lee, NJSBA executive director. Many of these reports are listed on the “Good News” section of the Association’s Web site.

This year, the focus of the Quality Counts report was expanded beyond public school achievement, and now rates states on additional indicators of success such as parents’ income and education; preschool and kindergarten enrollment; statewide policies; and enrollment in postsecondary education. When all of those factors were tabulated with K-12 academic achievement, New Jersey ranked fourth highest in the nation. Virginia was the highest.

State Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy said New Jersey's high rankings had much to do with its investment in at-risk children. For instance, nearly 61 percent of New Jersey’s 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in preschool, as compared to the national average of 45 percent.

The report gave New Jersey middling reviews of state policies in areas such as a lack of assistance or sanctions for low-performing schools; assessments in social studies and science; and alignment of high school courses with post-secondary education.