New Jersey schools lag on federal targets
About 30 percent of Garden State schools miss the mark on the No Child Left Behind educational standards.
More New Jersey schools are failing to meet targets set by the federal No Child Left Behind act.
About 30 percent of New Jersey schools have not met the the federal standards for two years in a row. That’s an increase over the previous rate of 20 percent.
Assistant State Education Commissioner Barbara Gantwerk said Thursday there various reasons for the increase.
“It may indicate that this is a pervasive problem and a persistent problem,” said Gantwerk. “It may indicate that this is based on a small number of students and therefore it’s not the same issue as a pervasive problem.”
Gantwerk said the state education department provides technical assistance, training and grants to schools to help improve student performance. She said it will be a challenge for all New Jersey schools to meet the standards by the 2014 target date set by Washington.
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