Keep
up school progress
Star-Ledger Editorial • Friday, November
05, 2004
New Jersey's poorest school districts are beginning to
show impressive improvement in teaching students to
read.
Reading test scores, made public last month, jumped 8.3
percent for fourth-graders in 31 Abbott districts -- named
for a long-running court case about school funding. That is
twice the statewide increase. Some Abbott districts posted
double- digit increases, including a few that went up 20
percent or more.
This does not mean the job is finished. The Abbott
districts now average a 75 percent pass rate on reading
tests, an improvement over past scores but below the
statewide average of 90 percent.
The state says the reading battle is being won because
of an intensive literacy program introduced in some of the
districts that the Education Department would like to
replicate in all Abbott elementary schools.
These good results should motivate teachers and students
to keep up the good work. But they also should motivate
state legislators.
Faced with a budget crisis, some lawmakers have taken to
grumbling about the $4 billion that flows annually to the
Abbott districts. The Abbotts now spend on average $600 more
per pupil than the wealthiest school districts.
While no one questions the need to make sure the money
is spent effectively, now is not the time to back away from
success.
© 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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