By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on November 03, 2016 at 1:36 PM, updated November 03, 2016 at 3:39 PM
TRENTON — In reviewing the results of last school year’s state math and English exams, New Jersey’s Department of Education can point to plenty of positive trends.
Statewide, scores improved on nearly every exam in grades 3-11. More students exceeded grade-level expectations than the year before, and fewer students fell into the lowest-scoring category, those considered to have the most ground to make up before being ready for college or a career.
But while presenting 2016 test results to the state Board of Education on Wednesday, Deputy Education Commissioner Peter Shulman emphasized low scores he called “nothing short of shocking” among economically disadvantaged and minority students.
Compared to 2015, the state’s achievement gap for those students remained roughly the same or even improved on some tests. But it grew wider on other exams, and Shulman said the results underscore the importance of testing to ensure all students are making progress, he said.
“This is a civil rights issue,” Shulman said. “This is an ethical issue. Not just an academic one.”
