2023 NJ School Test Results Released: See How Your District Did

NEW JERSEY — State test results show that New Jersey public school students are still rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted in-person learning and made a noticeable difference on student progress.

And, almost half of students statewide still tested below grade level in English language arts, according to newly-released results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment tests administered in Spring 2023.

Patch looked at the percentage of students deemed proficient or higher on English language arts, math, and science testing - in other words, which students are performing at grade level or above.

Scores in math, English, and science improved overall from last year, when test scores hit a seven-year low. However, the number of students deemed proficient in the subjects remain below 2019 levels, before the pandemic halted K-12 testing for two years. Certain groups of students performed below average in all subjects, officials said. And, third-grade student progress was stagnant this year in reading.

NJ Spotlight News created a database where you can look up scores by county, district, school, and more. Click here to access that tool.

Overall, Dr. Jorden Schiff, assistant commissioner of the state department of education's Division of Teaching and Learning Services, said that New Jersey is not alone in seeing “a historic reduction in student achievement levels” since the pandemic.

“Every state saw this," Schiff said during a presentation to state Board of Education members last week. "We saw it not only nationally but internationally as well."

Data shows 51.3 percent of New Jersey students were deemed to be at grade level or higher in English in this year's testing, compared with 57.6 percent of students in 2019. Last year, fewer than 49 percent of students were categorized as meeting or exceeding expectations.

And, math proficiency levels decreased from 44 percent of students in 2019 to 37.6 percent of students in 2023 - rising slightly from last year's levels of 35.4 percent.

The science test was administered for the first time in 2019 for students in grades 5, 8, and 11. In the first year, 25.4 percent of students tested at grade level or higher. In 2022, that dropped to 23.2 percent; this year, 24.9 percent of students were labeled proficient or above.

Education Department officials also noted that they were concerned about achievement gaps among Hispanic, Black, disabled, economically-disadvantaged, and English-language learners, and asked the state to come back with more information.

Just over 17 percent of Black students, and 23.1 percent of Hispanic students, had results that were proficient or above in mathematics in this year's tests. This is compared to 48.6 percent of white students and 73.7 percent of Asian students.

In English language arts, 61 percent of white students and 80.6 percent of all students tested at grade level, compared to 37.1 percent of Hispanic students and 33.7 percent of Black students.

Board member Dr. Joseph Ricca Jr. also mentioned attendance issues, access to nutrition, and overall student well-being as indicators that state and local leaders can look at to address some of those gaps.

"There are really significant concerns that we see over and over and over again," Ricca said. "...there are issues that we must address within the lives of our children, in order to achieve the types of academic growth and results that we'd like to see."

Percentage of all New Jersey students who either met or exceeded expectations, or were labeled proficient or above, on the NJSLA:

English language arts

• 2019: 57.6 percent
• 2022: 48.9 percent
• 2023: 51.3 percent

Math

• 2019: 44 percent
• 2022: 35.4 percent
• 2023: 37.6 percent

Science

• 2019: 25.4 percent
• 2022: 23.2 percent
• 2023: 24.9 percent

There was no statewide testing at all in 2020 or 2021. Test scores for every school and district in the state are available to download from the Department of Education website.