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4-5-17 Education in the News

NJ Spotlight--Latest School Performance Reports Put ACT/SAT Results in Perspective

Reports, released yesterday, continue to stress dynamic growth over static snapshots

New Jersey has long tinkered — politically and logistically — with how it grades its public schools: from its once-popular School Report Cards that went home in backpacks to its own internal monitoring systems.

With the latest School Performance Reports released yesterday come more changes, reflecting the state’s continued focus on measuring growth rather than on taking static snapshots, officials said.

New categories have been added, including the results from both ACT and SAT college entrance exams in the high school reports, rather than just the SAT. The ACT has become increasingly a test of choice in New Jersey and nationwide.

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/17/04/04/latest-school-performance-reports-put-act-sat-results-in-perspective/

John Mooney | April 5, 2017

 

Star Ledger--New SAT scores: Compare every N.J. public high school

TRENTON -- The average statewide SAT score in New Jersey's public high schools was 1,075 out of 1,600 last school year, the first year students participated in a redesigned exam, according to new state data.

Average overall scores among specific high schools ranged from a high of 1,506 to a low of 728. Statewide, the average score was a 537 on the reading section and a 538 in math.

Use the search tool at the bottom of this story to compare scores for any public high school. 

The newest SAT scores were released by the state Department of Education Tuesday as part of its annual School Performance Reports, an array of data that includes test scores, demographics and other information about every public school in the state.

http://www.nj.com/education/2017/04/nj_sat_scores_best_worst_high_schools.html#incart_river_index

Adam Clark and Carla Astudillo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com|on April 04, 2017 at 3:11 PM, updated April 04, 2017 at 3:49 PM

 

Star Ledger--Here's how N.J. wants to grade schools for the feds

TRENTON -- New Jersey's new plan for grading its schools for the federal government places less weight on passing state exams and extra importance on other factors, such as the performance of students learning to speak English and academic progress among students who don't pass standardized tests.  

The state Monday filed its federal accountability plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the new federal education law that replaced No Child Left Behind. All states are required to file a plan to the federal government.

The ESSA plan calls for decreasing the importance of standardized test scores in rating schools and giving states more flexibility to decide how to intervene in struggling school districts. 

What to know about Christie's education budget

A breakdown of Gov. Chris Christies final education budget.

Previously, the state primarily considered proficiency on standardized tests and graduation rate when it evaluated schools for federal purposes. 

http://www.nj.com/education/2017/04/heres_how_nj_wants_to_grade_schools_for_the_feds.html#incart_river_index

Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com|April 04, 2017 at 7:31 AM, updated April 04, 2017 at 11:14 AM

 

The Record--New reports reveal how often teachers skip school

The average teacher was absent one of out every 20 school days in Passaic County last year, while their peers in Bergen County were absent on average one out of every 33 days.

The faculty attendance rates for schools across New Jersey were included in new performance reports that the state released Tuesday for the 2015-16 school year. The report cards, as they’re called, give a school-by-school picture on measures including test scores, graduation rates and absenteeism.

According to the data on faculty attendance, which is reported by districts to the state, the statewide median for faculty attendance was 97 percent, according to an analysis of the data by The Record — meaning they missed around one out of every 33 days based on a 180-day school year. Local figures also represent medians for the two counties.

http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/education/2017/04/04/new-reports-reveal-how-often-teachers-skip-school/100041186/

Hannan Adely and Dave Sheingold , NorthJersey 7:17 p.m. ET April 4, 2017

 

Washington Post--Trump says DeVos is ‘highly respected’, U.S. education is ‘so sad’ — and there’s more

Trump says DeVos is 'highly respected' and has 'one of the toughest jobs'

President Trump was asked Tuesday about his education priorities and how he would address “the disconnect” between skills that companies are looking for and what young people entering the workforce are able to offer. This is what he said:

  • “If you look at so many elements of education, and it is so sad to see what is coming, happening in the country.”
  • He really likes charter schools and doesn’t think they are “an experiment” anymore.
  • The Common Core State Standards has “to end” because “we have to bring education local.”
  • Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is “doing a terrific job,” is “highly respected” and has “a tremendous track record.”

At the town hall event in Washington, Catherine Engelbert, chief executive of Deloitte, asked him about his priorities “around education” and around “the work of the future.”

She noted that the New York City public high school graduation rate is 70 percent, but the readiness of students for college and career is assessed at 37 percent, and she asked him to explain his education priorities given the extraordinary pace of change in the workplace and the “disconnect between what employers need and what are our students coming into the workforce are prepared to deliver.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/04/04/trump-devos-is-highly-respected-u-s-education-is-so-sad-common-core-must-end-and-much-more/?utm_term=.e9223949e49f

By Valerie Strauss April 4 at 1:00 PM

 

Education Week--Principals' Test Not Predictive of Success on the Job

Exam results show racial disparities

New research has found essentially no positive correlation between how would-be principals perform on a widely used licensure exam and their success as school leaders.

The study, which looked at principals’ performance on the School Leaders Licensure Assessment (SLLA) and on-the-job evaluations, student achievement, and teacher surveys, over a 10-year period in Tennessee, also found that non-white candidates were about three times less likely than white candidates to pass the exam.

The researchers found that candidates with higher passing scores were more likely to be hired as principals. And because Tennessee has the lowest cut score among the states that use the SLLA, disparities in passing rates for white and non-white candidates could be greater in states that set higher cut scores, said Jason A. Grissom, the lead researcher and an associate professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/04/05/principals-test-not-predictive-of-success-on.html

By Denisa R. Superville|April 4, 2017