Proposals that will have a major impact on every middle and high school in New Jersey are likely to go before the State Board of Education later this fall. New graduation requirements, changes in the Special Review Assessment, the state’s alternate pathway to a diploma, and reform initiatives including the American Diploma Project and the Abbott Secondary Education initiative will all be up for action.

A November 1 Public Education Institute Forum, will provide an opportunity for public dialogue on these issues with advocates and New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) officials.

The Special Review Assessment may be the most immediately pressing issue. Over 13,000 students, and one-third of all Abbott graduates, received their high school diplomas last year by successfully completing the SRA after not passing one or more parts of the NJ High School Proficiency Assessment, the traditional exit test. In 2005, concerns about the SRA’s reliability and increasing use led the State Board to pass a resolution calling for phasing it out, but that timeline has not been finalized pending agreement on what would replace the alternative test.

A new study released last month projected a sharp rise in dropouts and a decrease in New Jersey’s nationally-leading graduation rates if the SRA was eliminated. The report, New Jersey’s Special Review Assessment: Loophole or Lifeline? said English language learners and urban students would be most affected, but the impact would be felt statewide. The report recommended that changes in the state’s assessment system and graduation polices be tied more closely to improved efforts at secondary reform.

Two of those reform efforts are the American Diploma Project (ADP) and the Abbott Secondary Education Initiative (SEI). ADP is a national effort sponsored by business and political leaders to increase the rigor of high school courses and graduation requirements. In New Jersey, this effort is being led by the High School Redesign Steering Committee and has been endorsed by Education Commissioner Davy and Governor Jon Corzine. The Committee is preparing a series of recommendations that call for increasing the number college prep math and science courses required for high school graduation and adding mandatory end-of-course exams to standardize course content across districts.

The Secondary Education Initiative (SEI) is a program of middle and high school reform that grew out of the Court-ordered Abbott process. It requires providing all students in the state’s poorest urban districts with college prep curricula, small learning environments, and improved family/student supports by Fall, 2008.

A major issue for both these reform efforts is building the capacity at the school, district, and state levels needed to implement them. Advocates and professional associations have both expressed concerns that the ambitious goals of these secondary reform efforts have not been matched by investments in the resources and technical assistance they require, especially at NJDOE. (For more see Finding Common Ground on NJ Secondary Reform.)

Policy proposals on all these issues are expected to be put before the State Board at the November or December meetings. Robust debate is expected. Those interested in participating in this debate can find out more about SBOE meetings and public testimony sessions here and register for the Nov.1 PEI Forum on Secondary issues by contacting: rupei@rci.rutgers.edu.

Prepared: October 1, 2007