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State’s 82.1 graduation rate is far above the national average of 69 percent
New Jersey finished at the top of the class again this year, leading the nation in the percentage of students who graduate from high school, according to a national report.
The state's graduation rate of 82.1 percent joins Iowa and Wisconsin as the only three that scored over 80 percent, according to a report by Education Week and Editorial Projects in Education Research Center scheduled for release today, according to an article in northjersey.com.
Graduation rates in the state's three largest cities remained the same or dipped slightly from the 2005 numbers. Newark held steady at a rate of 85.1 percent, Jersey City fell to 63.1 from 65.7 while Paterson fell to 45.5 from 47.Click here to search graduation rates.
But exactly how students are assessed for college readiness varies significantly from state-to-state. Forty-three percent of all students at public two-year colleges enroll in remedial courses, and 29 percent enroll at four-year institution, according to a report on StrongAmericanSchools.org, a non-partisan public advocacy group for education reform.
New Jersey just began its own high school curriculum reform and plans to add more math and science classes, as well as additional subject tests, to its graduation requirements. Those changes will be phased in through 2016.
"It's a major priority – we're making sure that students enter college and the workforce with the tools they need," said Kathryn Forsyth, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, who was quoted in the northjersey.com report.
– ELIZABETH BIRGE, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
