Test Scores Increased in Turnaround Schools....

New today out of Trenton...

New Jersey High School Graduation Rate Increases to 86% in 2011-12 School Year, While
Turnaround Schools Make Significant Gains Across the State
Department of Education Releases Graduation Rates, NJ ASK, and HSPA Results Months Earlier Than Ever Before to Support District Improvement Efforts http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2012/1205grad.htm

Trenton, NJ - The Department of Education today released results on the

• New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK), 
• the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) 
• and state-wide graduation rates for the 2011-2012 school year, drastically improving reporting timelines from previous years. 

The state's graduation rate increased from 83% in 2011 to 86% in 2012, the second year the state is using the new federal methodology for calculating the graduation rate. On the NJ ASK, the average proficiency rates across all grades and subjects remained steady, while proficiency rates on the HSPA increased in both LAL and math.

Meanwhile, School Improvement Grant (SIG) schools undergoing intensive turnarounds with the support of the NJDOE on the whole made significant gains over the past two years.

"Once again, our data shows us that New Jersey students perform quite well overall while continuing to make steady improvement, and we applaud our educators for their work every day with our students," said Commissioner Chris Cerf. The results for schools undergoing intensive turnarounds this year are particularly very encouraging, showing that while our achievement gaps across the state are persistent and unacceptably high, we can close them with dedicated support interventions."  

A summary of the test results and graduation rates, as well as individual school and district results, are available at the following links:

NJ ASK and HSPA: http://www.nj.gov/education/schools/achievement/2013/
Graduation Rates: http://www.nj.gov/education/data/grate/2012/