The 4th annual “Education Scorecard,” a report produced by the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, and faculty at Dartmouth College, was released today. Specifically, the report showcases national district-level student growth in Math and Reading, combining state test results from roughly 35 million grade 3–8 students. 

In the study, New Jersey ranks 20th out of 38 states in academic growth in math and 19th out of 35 states in reading between 2022 and 2025. The full report can be found HERE.

The following is a statement from JerseyCAN Executive Director Paula White:

“The Education Scorecard released today paints a sluggish portrait of New Jersey’s education recovery during the years 2022 through 2025. 

“A major finding of this year’s Scorecard is that none of the States that failed to enact literacy reforms produced gains in Reading.  Unfortunately for our public school scholars, New Jersey falls within this group, and the bottom line is that we must do far more. The Scorecard shows that states such as Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, four of the ten poorest states in America, enacted a series of proven and comprehensive reforms in the ‘science of reading,’ and it has worked.  The Garden State must develop a comprehensive statewide plan that follows these examples of success.

“New Jersey’s math scores have also been stagnant, with progress remaining elusive in many school districts across the state, especially those in our urban and at-risk communities.  In order to yield more significant results for our children, greater effort must be made to ensure that our curriculum is consistent statewide and that local communities are empowered to adapt to current realities.

“Several districts here in New Jersey have become beacons of light in achieving academic growth. For example, the Scorecard shows that Montgomery Township, Paramus, and Princeton outperform peer districts in both math and reading. I am proud to note that my own northern New Jersey town, Bloomfield, is among those leading the way in the recovery of mathematics education. Much further south, in Haddonfield, outsized progress in reading is also being made. Many communities throughout the Garden State are making a true impact, and New Jersey must fully utilize these examples and build a statewide plan that studies and scales the great work happening on the local level.

“Finally, we must not forget that New Jersey received about $4.3 billion in federal pandemic relief for K–12 schools—roughly $3,200 per student.  These dollars mattered greatly and helped boost our ratings on the Education Scorecard. Still, even after such a massive investment, many middle- and higher-poverty districts remain behind their pre-pandemic levels, and, most concerning, these funds are no longer available, and New Jersey can no longer rely on this kind of federal investment.

“Adhering to the status quo will only keep New Jersey in our troubling middle-of-the-pack position. We must move on an accelerated timetable for recovery and growth and build a plan that universally promotes evidence-based reading instruction, such as  “science of reading” reforms; embraces test-based accountability; and invests in literacy coaches and high-impact tutoring. The Education Scorecard also underscores the need for policies to tackle student absenteeism and overexposure to screens and social media.  

“JerseyCAN has highlighted immediate opportunities for mission-critical budgetary investments, alongside small but high-impact, budget-neutral changes that will provide common-sense solutions to our education challenges.  In their first months in office, the JerseyCAN community has applauded the Sherrill administration for its transparency and candor regarding the realities of education in our state. As the Governor works to finalize the state’s budget, no matter how the numbers are crunched, we must remember our children and make direct investments in their future. JerseyCAN will continue showcasing needed solutions, fighting to ensure access to high-quality public schools for every child, regardless of zip code, cultural background, and socioeconomic status; and working with the new Administration to build higher expectations and a system around them to achieve commensurate results.”

The following is a summary of recent policy positions advocated and published by JerseyCAN:

• “Policy Prescriptions: 5 Concrete Ways to Mobilize New Jersey toward Student Success” focuses on accelerating student progress through literacy, math, tutoring, college readiness, and data usage.
• “Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Leveraging Literacy from Policy to Practice in New Jersey” centers on improving student reading outcomes through strong implementation of current laws and the passage of new literacy laws and policies layered onto the original literacy bills passed in August 2024.
• “Credit Where Credit is Due: Charting the Course for Cost-Effective, Career-Ready Futures in New Jersey,” which proposed a two-pronged, cost-effective approach to support New Jersey High Schools by significantly expanding college-credit learning opportunities and industry-valued work accreditations for career-ready jobs.  
• “Leveraging Literacy – The Path to Education Recovery in New Jersey,” which served as the policy anchor to JerseyCAN’s ambitious campaign to bring the issue of literacy to the forefront in New Jersey and established the New Jersey Legacy of Literacy Coalition (NJLL), which united a diverse array of New Jersey organizations to address the literacy crisis in the State.  Eventually, these efforts contributed to the passage of New Jersey’s “Literacy Bill Package” in August 2024 which included Bill A2288 (ACS), directing the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to establish the Office of Learning Equity and Academic Recovery, and Bills S2644/2645/2646 (SCS), requiring the NJDOE to establish a working group on student literacy; mandating universal literacy screenings for kindergarten through grade three students; and requiring literacy-related professional development for certain school district employees.