By Michelle Sartor
High school graduation requirements will be changing for New Jersey students, moving from an end-of-year test that encompasses a variety of subject areas to end-of-course exams that test mastery of a particular subject. The new tests will also include more than multiple choice questions, with essays and other problem solving questions that will see how well students can apply knowledge. Changes to the assessments won’t be fully implemented for several years, with current fourth-graders as the first graduating class to be fully affected.
Officials have said the current High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) and Alternative High School Assessment (AHSA) do not adequately measure a student’s ability to do well in college or in a career. Statistics show that 90 percent of students in Bergen and Essex County Community Colleges need remediation before taking college courses and one-third of Rutgers University students need remediation. According to data, just 25 percent of students who take remediation courses graduate college within eight years. The Chamber of Commerce has reported that half of recent high school graduates could pass eighth grade math aptitude tests, which are considered the gateway to entry-level jobs, and that businesses spend substantial time and money training high school graduate employees.
“Preparing students for college and career is not only a moral imperative, it is an economic necessity to keep New Jersey competitive given the demands of the 21st century,” said Gov. Chris Christie. “In too many areas of our state — often in our lowest performing districts — when students graduate high school they are not truly ready for college or a career. These new graduation requirements will better measure college and career readiness so that a high school diploma earned in New Jersey is the gold standard for the country.”
End-of-course language arts and math exams will begin in New Jersey in the 2014-2015 school year. New Jersey is one of 24 states taking such action as part of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). The exams will be in line with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and are currently under development through PARCC. The group is working on language arts and math exams for grades 9-11. New PARCC end-of-course tests will also replace the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK), which tests students in grades 3-8, in the 2014-2015 school year.
The state Department of Education will determine the number of end-of-course exams required for graduation, as well as what the passing scores for each will be.
Calculating the graduation rate is also changing. For the first time, the state used a new federally-mandated methodology to calculate the graduation rate for 2011. It found the statewide rate to be 83 percent. Under the previous system, the statewide graduation rate was 94.7 percent. Proponents of the new requirements say the standards more realistically assess students’ abilities to prosper in higher education and the work world.
“I applaud leaders from K-12 education, higher education and the business community for their work in coming together and making thorough, thoughtful and meaningful recommendations to modernize our school system,” said Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf. “Every child who walks off the graduation stage in New Jersey should do so with a diploma in their hand that symbolizes to colleges and employers that they are truly ready for that next stage of their life.”