Publications

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 […]

Work thus far on the NJ Science Course Pathways Study has focused on coding and classifying science course pathways and preliminary descriptive and advanced analyses.

High schools’ focus on STEM is a key feature of the ongoing study of the relationship between science course sequences, college enrollment, and pursuit of STEM fields for students in New Jersey.

Why does the sequencing of high school science courses matter? This essential question puts an emphasis not only on the combination of science courses taken in high school but also on the sequence of courses taken. As part of our project entitled, “What Science Course Pathways in High School Predict College Enrollment and Pursuing STEM […]

By Vandeen A. Campbell, Ph.D. The New Jersey State Policy Lab, in collaboration with the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, is releasing a report that examines patterns in high school math course-taking across New Jersey [...]

With funding from the New Jersey State Policy Lab, the American Education Research Association (AERA), and National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Grant Program, the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies is excited to launch a study of science course-taking pathways in New Jersey’s high schools and identify those which predict college enrollment and pursuing […]

By Elisabeth Kim, Ph.D. The most segregated high schools in New Jersey often have the highest suspension rates. For example, this is the case for schools that serve large percentages of students of color (90%+) [...]

Freshman Year Science Course-taking in NJ, 2016-2019 Note: The total number of schools and students represented in each chart panel varied slightly each year. In 2019-20, 58 high schools (total 9th grade enrollment: 13,797) were segregated by both race and poverty. 41 high schools were segregated by poverty only (9th grade enrollment: 11,716). 265 high […]

It is well established that careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields tend to offer higher wages (Carnevale, Cheah, & Hanson, 2015). Further, individuals who begin engaging in standard and advanced STEM coursework early in high school are more likely to pursue STEM majors in college (Enberg & Wolniak, 2013). NJ’s high school […]

Mathematics has long been considered essential to success in secondary and post-secondary education and in a labor market increasingly reliant on 21st century skills (Aughinbaugh, 2012; Kim et al., 2015). Furthermore, an understanding of complex math and problem-solving skills such as algebra is critical to citizenship in a democratic society (Moses & Cobb, 2002; Allen, 2011). […]

Background and National Trends The connection between expanding access to high-quality and rigorous coursework and improving postsecondary outcomes is well established within the literature. According to the U.S. Department of Education (2010), a rigorous high school course load can be evidenced by a student’s participation in at least two Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Since its […]

Ninth grade is a critical year for getting adolescents on a path to secondary and postsecondary success. For underperforming secondary schools and districts looking to turnaround the trajectory of their freshman cohorts, offering students intense support as they transition from 8th to 9th grade is an investment very likely to yield dramatic change in high […]