The 2024 New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) reports the results

New Jersey released its annual statewide standardized test results Wednesday, with good and bad news about public school students’ performance in math, language arts and science.

The state Department of Education presented to the Board of Education statewide results for third through ninth graders who took the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) in math, language arts and science last spring.

While the results were not unexpected, they follow national trends in students recovering from learning disabilities Due to the pandemic, board members expressed concern about a significant achievement gap between Black and Latino students, who are lagging behind their peers in all subjects. The distance narrows slightly, the results showed.

The percentage of students achieving at least one proficiency level has improved slightly compared to last year, but is still below levels seen in 2019, the last year before the pandemic. Language proficiency rose 0.9% to 52.2%, while math scores increased from 37.6% to 39.6%. In the natural sciences there was a slight increase to 24.8%.

” READ MORE: New Jersey’s first standardized test results since the pandemic show students are still struggling

The results showed a staggering 45.3% difference in performance between the lowest and highest performing groups of students. Just over 35% of black students achieved proficient language proficiency, while 80.9% of Asian students met expectations in language arts. In mathematics the gap was even greater.

“Is there anything we haven’t tried yet?” asked board member Arcelio Aponte. “It frustrates me that year after year we struggle to close this gap.”

In its presentation, the Department of Education cited new literacy programs, effective tutoring and support to help districts improve science and math instruction. The state announced Wednesday a $42 million federal grant to expand or build preschool facilities in 22 counties, including Cinnaminson, Palmyra and Pennsauken in South Jersey.

Aponte asked Board President Kathy Goldenberg to create a special task force or committee to study the achievement gap. However, another board member said the move could hurt the Education Department’s efforts.

Acting Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer said the department will work with the 13-member board. “I think that’s an interesting recommendation,” he said.

There was also some progress by grade level in some subjects. Between 95,000 and 100,000 students took the exam at each grade level.

In linguistics, ninth graders saw the largest increase, reaching 58% of expectations, compared to 52% in 2023. Seventh and eighth graders saw a slight decrease.

The district results were presented to district officials months ago and presented at local school board meetings.

” READ MORE: Camden schools make modest gains in state test scores and other findings from a special advisory board meeting

Here are other takeaways from the meeting: