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NJ Spotlight--Latest PARCC Results Released, But Fate of Tests After Elections Is Murky
Most recent scores show gains statewide, but proficiency levels in math and language arts don’t break 60 percent of test takers
The fate of the PARCC tests in New Jersey is still unknown, the Christie administration yesterday released the latest test results for every district and school.
For the administration, it was largely good news, as officials highlighted the statewide gains in the third year of the testing that has roiled the state. An additional 88,000 were meeting the proficiency scores in language arts, and another 70,000 in math.
John Mooney | September 29, 2017
Star Ledger--17 New Jersey schools earn National Blue Ribbon Award
The U.S. Department of Education recognizes annually schools for overall excellence and closing the achievement with the National Blue Ribbon designation. They are schools that demonstrate that all students can achieve to high standards through the hard work of students, educators, families and communities creating safe, welcoming schools where challenging content is mastered. In total, 342 schools in 44 states were honored this year. Among them were these New Jersey schools:
Allison Pries | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| Posted September 29, 2017 at 06:40 AM | Updated September 29, 2017 at 06:40 AM
Star Ledger-- PARCC 2017 test results are in: See how your school scored
TRENTON -- State education officials released the school-by-school results of the PARCC exams Thursday, giving students and parents a glimpse of how each grade fared on the third year of the controversial test.
A large number of New Jersey students continued to test below their grade level on the statewide exam, according to the results. However, most students scored higher on the 2017 PARCC than during the first two years the English and math test was given.
Kelly Heyboer and Carla Astudillo| Updated on September 28, 2017 at 5:25 PM Posted on September 28, 2017 at 4:23 PM
The Atlantic--What's Lost When Only Rich Kids Play Sports
The income disparity in youth athletics has effects on health and success that stretch far into adulthood.
As a child in the 1970s, Kathleen Castles lived across the street from her elementary school, and most mornings she got up at dawn to horse around the playground. She loved sports. The gym teacher, Ken Kuebler, would allow Castles to make use of the gym before classes started while he readied for the day. He knew that Castles’s family was poor.
Castles developed her dazzling athletic talent with the active support of coaches and other adults who filled in when her impoverished family foundered. Thousands of kids today endure similar material deprivation—some 21 percent of children live in households with incomes below the federal poverty threshold—and many lack athletic opportunities because of it. Indeed, the fruits of America’s fixation with youth sports are largely concentrated among children with means: According to data recently released by the Aspen Institute’s Sports and Society program, household wealth is the primary driver of kids’ athletic participation. Compared to their peers whose families make more than $100,000, children ages 6 through 12 whose family income is under $25,000 are nearly three times as likely to be “inactive”—meaning they played no sport during the year—and half as likely to play on a team sport even for one day. “Sports in America have separated into sports-haves and have-nots,” said Tom Farrey, the executive director of the Sports and Society program.
Linda Flanagan| Sep 28, 2017
