While statewide passing rates on standardized tests improved overall in 2024, a deeper look at school scores shows much ground still needs to be made up for student achievement to return to pre-pandemic levels.
NJ Spotlight News looked at the percentage of students the state Department of Education deems proficient or “passing” on the English Language Arts, math and science exams taken in the spring of each school year. NJ Spotlight looked at scores in grades 4 and 8 in math and English Language Arts and grades 5, 8 and 11 in science. The analysis compares passing rates in spring 2024 and spring 2023 to spring 2019, the last time students took the tests before pandemic-related school closures caused tests to be canceled in 2020 and 2021.
At a State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday where the proficiency scores were shared, Assistant Commissioner of Education Jorden Schiff noted that English Language Arts and math performance is improving, while science results remain consistent. However, significant achievement gaps between student groups still exist. Board members and Education Department staff expressed concerns that Black and Hispanic students, as well as students with disabilities, multilingual learners and economically disadvantaged students, scored below average in all subjects.
NJ Spotlight News combined three years’ worth of scores into an easy-to-search table. The data was taken from spreadsheets provided by the state and may not include all scores for all schools. You can find scores for your schools by searching the database.
One of the districts that has shown rapid growth is Mountain Lakes, Morris County, where passing rates in eighth grade math improved by 45.7 points from 2019 to 2024. Scores dipped in 2022 before surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and 2024.
At Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School No. 6 in Passaic City School District, recovery is taking longer. Just 7% of fourth grade students passed the ELA exam, down from 63.8% in 2019.
Department of Education officials said Wednesday they are studying what has been working in schools that have recovered quickly to find lessons that are applicable to other schools. Performance on standardized tests is impacted by many factors outside of school, including family income and how much education a parent or guardian has acquired.
Search below for test results from each of New Jersey’s public schools and districts.
