Publications

New Jersey recently joined more than 30 states in mandating universal literacy screenings in early elementary grades. These screenings—required by law to occur at least twice a year—assess students in kindergarten through third grade for early signs of reading difficulty. These difficulties may include challenges with identifying letters, word recognition, and oral reading fluency. The […]

Nationally, literacy rates among schoolchildren have become a growing concern, with the average reading scores for high school seniors falling to their lowest level since 1992, according to research from the Nation’s Report Card. Within New Jersey, less than 45% of third graders met or exceeded expectations on state English language arts assessments in spring […]

Chronic absenteeism—defined as missing 10 percent or more school days during the school year—remains a concern for some K-12 school leaders and educators. According to the New Jersey Department of Education, chronic absenteeism can be a predictor of low literacy levels, high dropout rates, and poor health outcomes in adulthood. During the 2021-22 school year […]

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically disrupted K–12 education. School staff across the country were faced with the unprecedented task of delivering high-quality instruction amidst a global health crisis. In New Jersey, approximately 15% of K–12 public schools managed to improve proficiency rates in math and/or English language arts (ELA) on the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment […]