New Jersey has highly funded schools, highly educated parents, and bad test scores.
Wake Up Call NJ has been shining a bright spotlight on this reality. Next, we want to get parents better information about their own children.
Report Cards
A simple letter grade can be misleading, and grading practices vary significantly from school to school.
Parents deserve to know what grades really mean.
Schools must describe how each grade is compiled for each course. For example, was participation, effort or attendance included?
And schools must display the child’s state test results for math, reading and science alongside grades on the final report card.
This will give parents a clearer picture of how their kids are actually performing.
Test Scores
The NJ state test (NJSLA) is given each spring, but parents don't see results until October! Other states get student results within weeks. Similar tests, like the SAT and ACT, show results within days.
Results should take no longer than two weeks.
Teachers should use test results to inform and tailor instruction during the last 4-6 weeks of the school year.
Teachers and parents can use these test results to inform instruction during the last month of the school year, to identify summer opportunities for learning, and to guide next school year's course placements.