N.J.
shows big gains on schools
State gives
overview of status on U.S. law
Tuesday, September 28, 2004 • BY JOHN MOONEY •
Star-Ledger Staff
After nearly 1,000 schools
fell short last year, significantly fewer New Jersey schools
will be branded this fall for failing to meet requirements
under President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, state
officials said yesterday.
The exact numbers were not
provided as schools are formally notified this week,
officials said. The statewide list is expected to be
released in the next couple of days.
But officials yesterday
gave an overview of New Jersey's status at a state
legislative hearing where many lawmakers and others
criticized the landmark federal law for what they called its
unbending and underfunded requirements.
"This year we have fewer
schools on the list than we had last year," said state
education Commissioner William Librera. "But that misses the
point ... the central point of the discussion ought to be
how do we change the implementation so that we talk about
what funding is necessary and how do we go about providing
for all of our children."
In the second year since
the law was fully put in the place, the shorter list of New
Jersey schools missing the mark had been expected. The state
loosened some of the requirements earlier this year, and
many districts statewide have reported gains in their
student test scores that would carry them over the required
levels.
The law requires each
school show steady gains in its average test scores in
reading and math for not only the student body as a whole,
but also broken out into racial, income and special
education status. All schools must reach 100 percent
proficiency by 2013.
Those that fall short in
any one of more than 40 categories are placed in "early
warning" after one year and deemed "needing improvement"
after two or more years, facing escalating sanctions the
longer they remain on the list.
Much of the discussion
yesterday at the Assembly hearing focused on the funding of
the law, which as also been a ongoing issue during the
current presidential election campaign.
President Bush maintains
that federal funding for public education has risen steeply
under his tenure. Critics charge the funding is $9 billion
short this year of what Congress authorized. New Jersey is
about $200 million short and is one of a dozen states in
which federal Title I funding, which provides for extra
tutoring for the neediest children, is dropping
slightly.
Testifying before the
joint meeting of the education and federal relations
committees, U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th Dist.) conceded any
bill's eventual funding commonly falls short of the
authorization.
"But for a program touted
as the president's signature initiative, his first major
legislation, for it to be so drastically underfunded
requires us to state it bluntly," he said.
Brian Jones, counsel to
U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige, testified on behalf of
the federal department and said the Bush administration in
the last four years has provided unprecedented increases to
schools.
"I would argue that a 52
percent increase in Title I and 36 percent in No Child Left
Behind is ample funding for New Jersey and everywhere else,"
he said.
John Mooney covers education. He can be reached at
973-392-1548, or jmooney@starledger.com Copyright 2004
The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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