Reading
and writing scores rise in needy school
districts
Friday, October 29, 2004 • BY JOHN MOONEY
• Star-Ledger Staff
After years of lagging test scores, elementary school
students in the state's poorest districts showed sizable
gains in their reading scores last year, according to new
state data.
What's behind the increase is open to debate -- some
point to the benefits of increased spending on those
students, other credit their programs, still others a
combination of factors. But the scores were seen as
encouraging news for the 31 districts that fall under the
state Supreme Court's landmark Abbott vs. Burke
rulings.
In school language arts, 75 percent of the general
education fourth-graders passed the state's reading and
writing test in Abbott districts, including East Orange, New
Brunswick, Elizabeth, Passaic and Perth Amboy.
The 8.3 percent rise among all Abbotts was twice the
statewide increase, and some districts such as Orange and
Asbury Park posted gains near 20 percent.
The overall achievement in poor districts remained well
short of the statewide average of 90 percent passing last
year, and the scores in the middle schools appeared
relatively flat.
But coupled with similar rises in the math scores, for
fourth-graders the margin between Abbott districts and the
rest of the state continues to narrow since the court's 1998
ruling, which demanded students in the poorest schools
receive the same educational opportunities as those in the
richest.
"What we have are results we have never seen before, the
kind of results all of the Abbott decisions have been
designed to produce," said state Education Commissioner
William Librera. "They speak for themselves, and we are
really encouraged."
State officials played up the biggest gains in districts
in which the state Department of Education channeled its
most intensive literacy programs, using an approach it is
pushing the court to adopt for all of the districts.
The latest scores were part of court documents filed
this month in the state's proposal to adopt a more
districtwide approach to reading instruction, instead of the
current strategy of intervening school by school.
"We know the practices that work to be good readers,"
said Gordon MacInnes, the assistant commissioner in charge
of the Abbott programs. "And we want those practices of
early literacy in every classroom this year. If we do, we
will see a dramatic rise across the state, of that I am
certain."
Among the biggest gains were in Asbury Park, Orange and
Pleasantville, where the state has launched a pilot program
of its districtwide approach.
"We want to pay attention to the places seeing 20
percent, not just 8 percent, because that seems to be real
breakthrough kind of news," said Librera.
But others credited the overall Abbott strategy demanded
by the court over the years for elementary schools,
including hundreds of millions of additional dollars and a
focus on improved curriculum and instruction across the
board.
The Abbott districts will receive about $4 billion from
the state this year. New Jersey has made the country's
biggest gains in adequately funding its low-income schools,
according to a recent national report by Education
Trust.
"The gaps are closing in districts where there is this
overall approach," said David Sciarra, director of the
Education Law Center, the Newark advocacy group that has led
the Abbott challenge.
"It's about the resources, and also the specific
directives from the court on how the resources are to be
focused," he said. "When you put it all together, something
good happens."
Long Branch saw a 12 percent rise in its scores, and its
superintendent said any number of factors are at work,
including the preschool programs launched by the court's
1998 mandates now bearing fruit in the elementary
schools.
"Without a doubt, the money was important, but the
Supreme Court did some remarkable things in its rulings,"
said Superintendent Joseph Ferraina. "Abbott has a had a lot
to do with it, but it's also how you carry it out."
Aware of the political and budget pressures on the state
to contain spending, others also stressed the additional
funds have clearly helped to provide for needed teachers and
other programs aimed at student achievement.
"You can't discount what Abbott has done," said Jonathan
Hodges, president of the Paterson school board. "We've been
languishing a long time, and with the Abbott dollars, we
have been able to repair that damage."
The report by Education Trust cited New Jersey's rise
from seeing its low-income districts spending $800 less per
pupil than the wealthiest districts in 1997 to last year
spending nearly $600 more.
With that additional spending, the report's author said
the conversation would be far different if the scores had
not improved.
"Certainly, the increased scores are encouraging," said
Kevin Carey, a senior policy analyst with the Washington,
D.C., think tank. "It is what you would want to see in terms
of increases in funding. If there weren't increases in
achievement, that would be a great cause for concern."
John Mooney covers education. He can be reached at
jmooney@star ledger.com, or (973) 392-1548. © 2004
The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.
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