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New tests show N.J. students lagging, especially in math

TRENTON - Scores on a new standardized test confirm an old problem for New Jersey high school students: math. Students in grades four through 11 in about 10 states, including New Jersey, took the controversial Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career exams last spring. The New Jersey Department of Education on Tuesday released state-level results showing the percentage of students who met expectations in math and language arts.

TRENTON - Scores on a new standardized test confirm an old problem for New Jersey high school students: math.

Students in grades four through 11 in about 10 states, including New Jersey, took the controversial Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career exams last spring. The New Jersey Department of Education on Tuesday released state-level results showing the percentage of students who met expectations in math and language arts.

The majority of New Jersey students in all grades failed to meet expectations. The scores were worst in Geometry and Algebra II, in which fewer than one-fourth of students met the standards.

Because it was the first year for PARCC, State Education Commissioner David Hespe said, the results cannot be compared with previous tests. The 2015 scores will provide a baseline and be used to improve classroom instruction and student performance, he said.

"This first year's results show there is still much work to be done in ensuring all of our students are fully prepared for the 21st-century demands of college and career," Hespe said at an afternoon news conference in Trenton.

Results for districts and schools will be released in several weeks, state officials said. Students and their parents are expected to get their results next month.

Some of the highest scores released Tuesday were by students in fourth through eighth grades. More than half met or exceeded expectations in English language arts in fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth grades, and 49 percent in sixth.

Among older students, 36 percent of 10th graders and 41 percent of 11th graders met or exceeded expectations in language arts. In Algebra II, which is tested by the subject and not grade level, 23 percent of students met or exceeded expectations.

State officials say younger students likely fared better because they had been exposed longer to the Common Core standards, grade-specific goals in English and math for kindergarten through 12th grade developed in 2010 by the National Governors Association and education experts.

"This data is from spring 2015. We need to consider that's not a lot of time," Hespe said.

The computerized PARCC test was one of two developed with $360 million in federal funds and aligned with the also controversial Common Core curriculum standards.

It sparked opposition around the country, with parents in some states joining a national movement to opt out of standardized testing. Pennsylvania did not administer the test.

New Jersey officials could not say how the state compared with other states that administered the PARCC. Data were also unavailable on how many students took the test or opted out.

Critics were quick to denounce New Jersey's results, saying that the test is flawed and that scores say little about public education. PARCC has been criticized for being too long and too expensive and for draining money and resources from other subjects and programs.

"It is time for a serious discussion at both the state and national levels about the overuse of high-stakes standardized testing," New Jersey Education Association president Wendell Steinhauer said in a statement. "We test children far too often, for far too many days each year, to obtain questionable data that is used for inappropriate purposes."

In an attempt to ease concern about the use of the new test, the state told districts last month that it would continue to use it for another year as only one possible path to meet the high school graduation requirement.

Camden School Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard said the latest test scores would give parents needed information on how their children were performing. "For years in Camden, state results were swept under the rug," he said.

Every student who took the PARCC received a score on a scale of 1 to 5. Only students who scored a 4 or a 5 are considered to have met expectations and to be well-prepared for the next grade. Previously, there were three levels.

The old standardized tests failed to measure college- and career-readiness, said Bari Erlichson, an assistant education commissioner.

About 44 percent of the state's 11th graders are college-ready, according to the results released Tuesday. That is comparable to results from SAT and other standardized tests.

Ramapo College president Peter Mercer, who joined a panel of educators and business leaders who praised the new test, said about one-third of incoming students need remedial work because their basic skills are lacking.

"These numbers aren't a surprise, but they are a concern," Mercer said. "We all have a lot of work to do."

mburney@phillynews.com

856-779-3814 @mlburney

This article contains information from the Associated Press.