Test scores show strides in most N.J. schools Thursday, February 07, 2008 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff Student test scores rose in most of New Jersey's public schools last year, with the biggest gains in elementary and middle school math but only small, if any, progress in language arts and science. In scores that are the chief judge of school quality, there were some encouraging signs. Black and Hispanic students continued to close the so-called achievement gap in some grades, gaining ground on their white and Asian counterparts. Where less than half of minority fourth-graders were proficient in math in 1999, the passing rates rose to three-quarters of Hispanic students and two-thirds of black students in 2007. Overall, almost two-thirds of all schools saw math scores improve last year with the statewide passing rates continuing a steady and sometimes-dramatic rise, according to results released by the state yesterday. For instance, 84.7 percent of fourth-graders passed math tests, up from just 60 percent in 1999. "We see continued progress, particularly at the elementary school level," said state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy in an afternoon press conference. "The news is very encouraging ...There are good signs across the board." But not all the news was good. Language arts scores continue to show little improvement over much of the last decade. Eighty percent of fourth-graders passed in language arts, just 1 percentage point higher than in 2001. The eighth-grade rate has actually dropped in that time to 74 percent, and high school has risen slightly to about 85 percent. In the state's science tests, scores also remained mostly unchanged, with only a slight majority of schools seeing gains from last year. In the first year of the high school science test, only 73.7 percent of students passed, one of the lowest passing rates of any of the tests. The tests are administered by the state in Grades 3 through 8 and 11. Passing the high school test is required for graduation, and the scores in every grade are often critical to how a school is judged within its community and under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Variations in test scores cut predictably across socioeconomic lines. For instance, 95 percent of fourth-graders in the state's richest districts passed the language arts test, while just 62 percent passed in the poorest communities. Davy emphasized some gains seen in the low-income districts falling under the Abbott v. Burke mandates, and her staff said they should continue to see progress under a new funding formula that erases the special designation and instead directs additional state aid to all districts with poor students. The state Supreme Court has yet to approve the new approach. The chief lawyer for the Abbott schoolchildren has been critical of the state's new funding plan, and he argued yesterday the new scores are evidence of neglect. "This is the second year of virtually flat results," said David Sciarra, director of the Education Law Center. "That's a very troubling sign, especially as the Department of Education in the last year has been removing itself from providing the kinds of resource and supports that are needed." The very highest achieving schools in the state continue to be the magnet high schools that operate through the county vocational districts, 10 of which saw every one of their students pass in math, language arts and science. The only other with a perfect 100 percent passing rate in all three tests was School 14 in Bayonne, also a magnet program. John Mooney may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com, or 973-392-1548. © 2008 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.