Credit: (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)Test scores for New Jersey’s latest standardized exams show students are improving slightly but most of the overall performance numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels and continue to show gaping achievement gaps.
State officials presented the 2024-2025 statewide numbers at the State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, after which individual school and district numbers were also released.
Statewide, the proficiency numbers crept up in virtually every grade level and test. The exams are administered in the spring in English language arts, math and science in Grades 3-11.
Just over half — 53% — showed proficiency in ELA, 41% in math and 27% in science. Only the science score was higher than those in 2019 before the COVID pandemic shutdown, and by one percentage point.
The gaps between racial and income groups are even starker, as much as 50 percentage points on some tests.
Board member Arcelio Aponte was among several board members who cited the lack of progress, despite several new statewide initiatives aimed to address the persistent gaps.
“I do recognize progress in ELA … but you see math has remained level essentially since 2022,” Aponte said of the gaps.
“The gaps are still frustrating, to say the least, to see where those gaps persist,” he said.
State Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer answered with a long list of targeted strategies now underway, but he acknowledged this is a daunting challenge that is not unique to New Jersey.
“That frustration is shared by not only with us, but with every educator who sees that,” Dehmer responded. “That’s a perennial problem we are looking at. . . This is the tough work for all educators.”
Find school results for 4th and 8th grade English Language Arts tests, as well as results for 4th and 8th grade math tests and for 5th, 8th and 11th grade science tests.
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