In a recent national Gallup poll, 74% of parents gave their own kid’s education a thumbs up. But of those people, two-thirds said the U.S. education system overall is broken.
So...we’ve all happened to pick a great school for our kids, but somehow everyone else's school is a problem?
Let’s zoom in on a couple districts alleged to be New Jersey’s best. That same disconnect is occurring in places we like to brag about. Montclair. West Windsor-Plainsboro. Some of the most sought-after, best-resourced, and highest-property-taxed districts in the state. So what are the math scores like in these top-flight communities?
Spoiler alert: not top-flight.
Take Montclair. Fewer than 50% of its high school students are proficient in Algebra I. In West Windsor, scores look a bit better. But “better” still means 1 in 3 students fail to meet expectations on grade-level math.
These are the towns people choose for their “great” schools. The ones in the fancy realtor brochures, complete with jazz bands, robotics, and impressive graduation rates. But when it comes to whether kids can actually do math, or how many graduates need remedial math in college, that’s another story.
It’s easy to assume “my kid’s school is fine.” It’s even easier when schools are giving all the kids A’s and B’s on the report card. But if this is what our top districts look like, what does that mean for everyone else?
Wake Up Call NJ isn’t ringing the alarm just for complacent districts like Montclair and West Windsor-Plainsboro. We’re combing through the whole state to find every district where the shortfall in skills is inexcusable. If we don’t demand better from the supposed best, it’s saying this is as good as it gets in New Jersey. That simply can’t be the case.
Let’s stop grading ourselves on a curve. Let’s fix this together. Let’s start by getting honest about the uncomfortable truth.
