How 668 districts changed across six performance measures
Each district is classified by whether it improved or declined on a majority of the six measures.
Change from the 2018–19 to the 2020–21 school year. Source: NJ Department of Education; analysis by Stephen M. Anti.
Attendance and SAT scores rose. College enrollment fell.
The six measures moved in different directions. Nearly every district reduced the number of students missing six to ten days of school, and two in three raised SAT scores and kept their teaching staff more experienced. Postsecondary enrollment was the exception: four in five districts sent fewer graduates on to college or training.
Share of districts that improved, held steady, or declined, by measure
- Improved
- No change
- Declined
Show as table
| Measure | Improved | No change | Declined | Districts |
|---|
District counts differ by measure because high-school measures apply only to districts with high schools. Absenteeism counts beyond the 97% that improved were not reported.
Graduation rates split down the middle
For four-year graduation rates, 151 districts improved and 151 declined. The largest swings were more than ten percentage points in each direction.
Largest changes in four-year graduation rate, 2018–19 to 2020–21
Percentage points
The two largest gains and five largest declines named in the analysis.
A wealth divide underneath the averages
The district with the broadest gains and the district with the steepest declines look very different. Saddle Brook improved on all six measures. Trenton declined on the most.
Saddle Brook
Improved on all six measures
Trenton
Most declines of any district
Poor students didn't have as much space at home to do classes as wealthier students. They also didn't have the technology.Julia Sass Rubin, Rutgers University
Absenteeism fell almost everywhere
97% of districts reduced the number of students absent for six to ten days. Greenwich Township went from an average of 48 such students to 6. Sea Girt Borough had the largest increase, from 32 to 45.
Students absent six to ten days, two districts at the extremes
How the analysis was done
I used the New Jersey Department of Education's annual School Performance Reports and adjusted cohort graduation rates, selecting the six indicators that had values for both 2018–19 and 2020–21: graduation rate, SAT scores, teacher experience, dropout rate, postsecondary enrollment, and days absent. After removing districts with missing values, 668 remained. For each district I calculated the change on each measure and classified the district by whether it improved or declined on a majority of the six.
The reporting includes interviews with Megan Kuhfeld (NWEA), Julia Sass Rubin and Saul Rubinstein (Rutgers University), Steve Baker (New Jersey Education Association), and students and parents in Monroe Township.