Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RALPH R. CAPUTO
District 28 (Essex)
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblywoman SADAF F. JAFFER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Requires State Board of Education to institute passing score of 725 for New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment until 2025.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning required graduation assessments for high school students.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The State Board of Education, in coordination with the Commissioner of Education, shall require that the passing score on the English language arts and mathematics components of the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment created and administered pursuant to P.L.1979, c.241 (C.18A:7C-1 et seq.) be set at 725 for 11th grade students expected to graduate as part of the 2023, 2024, and 2025 classes.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire on July 1, 2025.
STATEMENT
This bill instructs the State Board of Education, in coordination with the Commissioner of Education, to require that the passing score on the English language arts and mathematics components of the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment be set at 725 for 11th grade students expected to graduate as part of the 2023, 2024, and 2025 classes.
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted students throughout the State and led to a number of unique and pressing challenges. With many school districts returning to in-person learning, school officials are finding a significant drop in the number of students who are performing on grade level in key subject areas. For minority and economically disadvantaged students, those losses are even greater given the challenges they faced in acquiring learning devices, internet access, and in-person assistance from teaching staff. It is estimated that as many as 400,000 students in New Jersey are not proficient in English language arts and math. As a result, districts will need to provide remedial instruction in many core academic subjects, aside from those subjects tested on Statewide assessments, to ensure that students are making sufficient progress towards graduation.
Further compounding student learning losses has been a worsening of the student mental health crisis. Since the start of the pandemic, hospitals have reported an increase in the number of young people admitted to the emergency room with mental health emergencies while more parents are finding that their child has shown signs of a new or worsening mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression. Experts believe this increase is attributable to a number of factors including the implementation of social distancing measures, the pivot to virtual learning, interruption of mental health services, pandemic-related job losses, and the death of a close relative from COVID-19.
Increasing the score of the New Jersey Graduation Assessment at a time when many school districts are coping with widespread learning loss and a student mental health crisis, complicates the task of addressing some of the most severe impacts of the pandemic on our students by leaving school districts less time to address the urgent needs of their student populations. Some estimates suggest that administering the assessment with the current passing score of 750 may result in failure rates of 50 percent or more. A failure rate of this magnitude will not only cause further harm to our students, but exacerbate current staffing shortages by requiring additional staff to assist students with the portfolio appeals process as a result of a failed test.
By requiring students to achieve a passing score of 725, the State can ensure that its measurement of graduation readiness is realistic and achievable while allowing school districts the time to focus on their most pressing challenges.