With Election Day behind us, we now know Mikie Sherrill is our next governor - and as part of managing our boisterous state, she inherits our schools and the many challenges facing them. The biggest point is that 54% of our kids are not on grade level in math, which is urgent to fix because math is cumulative. We need change, and while change requires effort and political will, it’s totally doable. We recommend these six straightforward changes to help students, teachers and parents:
Make state test results available as quickly as the SAT, ACTs, and driver’s test results. For a state with an earned reputation for being less than patient (see: Turnpike drivers), NJ is one of the last states in the country to release statewide assessment data. Kids and parents can’t plan their summer and figure out how to catch up without their scores. Providing parents, students and teachers test results in early June would help inform end-of-school-year instruction, summer opportunities, and next year’s course placement.
Require schools to provide parents timely results to all formative and benchmark assessments during the school year, similar to the newly required K-3 literacy screenings. Most of these assessments are scored instantaneously. Having real-time data in math and reading will allow parents and teachers to work together to develop customized plans for each student to reach their fullest potential.
Speaking of “potential”, we need to measure what matters. While math and reading are not exhaustive of everything that’s important in public schools, they are essential to our students’ life outcomes. Require school districts to include measurable math and reading goals in their strategic plans. Doing so will help local leaders and community members keep focused on their students’ academic achievement amidst other priorities.
Report cards vary in what they measure – homework, tests, quizzes, participation, behavior, etc. – and can inadvertently provide a false sense of grade-level attainment. Requiring every report card to state what comprises each grade would give clarity to parents. Further, let’s add state test results next to the final letter grade, so parents get a true and complete picture of their child’s performance.
As our current governor suggested in January, let’s ban cell phones bell to bell in schools. In addition, let's ban all devices (often laptops from home) that allow students to access non-academic subject matter. Our future engineers and computer scientists tether their phones to laptops allowing for off-task activities like social media, texting, and gaming. This makes it nearly impossible for teachers to deliver instruction and for students to focus.
While we’re getting cell phones out of schools, let’s get kids back in them! Achievement starts with attendance and 15% of NJ students are chronically absent (18+ days), with an astounding 30% of NJ students missing 12 or more days of school. Absenteeism triples dropout risk and halves college odds. Peer states have reduced absenteeism with timely data collection, accountability for chronic absence, and a focus on prevention.
Governor-elect Sherrill rightly noted during her campaign the importance of improving 3rd-grade reading scores and the efficacy of high-dosage tutoring. The six policies outlined above will fuel both of those endeavors and much more for our students, parents and teachers. With only half of NJ kids reading on grade level, over 60% behind in math, and 75% not meeting grade-level expectations in science education needs to be a top priority for the Sherrill administration.
