Latest School Test Scores Released In NJ: See Trends, Results

NEW JERSEY — Student test scores improved on the most recent New Jersey Student Learning Assessments in math and English language arts, but scores are still lower than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning.

Science assessment results declined very slightly this year, according to newly-released results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment tests administered in Spring 2024.

Certain groups of students performed below average in all subjects though achievement gaps between student groups remain "significant," Department of Education officials said when sharing the latest scores on Wednesday.

These assessments help educators understand overall performance trends and find strategies to close those gaps, Acting Commissioner of Education Kevin Dehmer said.

“The statewide assessment results serve as a rich source of data for determining areas of need,” Dehmer said.

Scores in math, English, and science have improved overall from 2021-22, when test scores hit a seven-year low. However, the number of students deemed proficient in the subjects remain below 2019 levels, before the pandemic halted K-12 testing for two years.

Test scores for every school and district in the state are available on the Department of Education website.

Below is the percentage of all New Jersey students who either met or exceeded expectations, or were labeled proficient or above, on the NJSLA from 2019 to 2024:

English language arts

• 2019: 57.6 percent
• 2022: 48.9 percent
• 2023: 51.3 percent
• 2024: 52.2 percent

Math

• 2019: 44 percent
• 2022: 35.4 percent
• 2023: 37.6 percent
• 2024: 39.6 percent

Science

• 2019: 25.4 percent
• 2022: 23.2 percent
• 2023: 24.9 percent
• 2024: 24.8 percent

There was no statewide testing at all in 2020 or 2021.

Black and Hispanic students scored below the statewide average across all subjects, though assessment results for Black students in English language arts improved by about two points since last year. Asian students had the highest passing rates, and there was a 45.3-point gap between Black and Asian students in English language arts.

Arcelio Aponte, a member of the State Board of Education, called for more resources to focus in on the achievement gap between these groups of students.

“What do we do moving forward?" he asked. "Is there anything that we have not tried as of yet?”

Dehmer said the Department of Education will create an Office of Learning Equity and Academic Recovery that will be active by early next year to promote student literacy and academic recovery practices, in continuing efforts to close those gaps.