Test Scores Decline All Over, Princeton Schools An Exception

PRINCETON, NJ — While math and reading scores for students in New Jersey and across the country declined in the past years due to COVID-19, Princeton students continued to outperform state averages.

During last week's Board of Education meeting, administrators said that the recent standardized test scores showed students from the school district continued to excel and outperform state averages by substantial margins.

“The key takeaway here is that we had very few elementary students who did not meet or surpass expectations,” Sarah Moore, Supervisor of Elementary Education said in a statement. “There is much to celebrate here.”

New Jersey's eighth-grade math scores fell 11 points on a 500-point scale, from 292 in 2019 to 281 this year. Eighth graders’ reading scores remained the same — 270 in both 2019 and 2022.

At the fourth-grade level, New Jersey's math scores slid 7 points, from 246 in 2019 to 239 this year. Fourth-grade reading scores dipped from 227 to 223 during that span. More: COVID Set Back NJ's Math, Reading Scores, 'Nation's Report Card' Shows

Nationally, nearly 4 in 10 eighth graders failed to grasp basic math concepts in the biggest decline in math scores in decades, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, a report released Monday by the National Center for Education Statistics. (The Center for Education Statistics is part of the U.S. Department of Education.)

“I have been talking to districts around the state who have presented updated test results this month and there are many districts that have seen a drop below state averages in student performance. Princeton Public Schools is not among them,” Kimberly Tew, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction said.

Many standardized tests were not offered in the state in 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic. This resulted in a lack of data for many school districts. In many instances, districts are comparing the most recent scores to data from 2019.

“It’s an interesting comparison,” Tew said. “These are two very different cohorts of students and the data we are looking at now reflects what happened to students who had their education interrupted by the pandemic.”

The district said it was "watching" certain pockets, including data from third graders and some middle school scores but for the most part, the results were strong, particularly after 18 months of virtual and/or hybrid learning.

Officials said “there is always room to improve,” but overall numbers suggest "trending in a positive direction with a few exceptions.”

Joy Barnes-Johnson, Supervisor of Science for grades 6-12, pointed out similar trends. Science classes involving lab work were affected by remote learning and data released by the state are influenced by the high number of Princeton students who opt out of science testing, particularly at the high school level, Barnes-Johnson said.

“When you have three days of standardized testing and science is the last day, you see a trend where students take exams on the first and second day, but by the third day we have a large number of students who opt out," Barnes-Johnson said.

But overall, the strong performance of PHS students on AP Science exams shows that students have some of the top rankings in the state.

The presentation included recent SAT and ACT scores for college-bound students, as well as AP test results. The recent NJSLA science, math and English Language Learner ACCESS scores were also included.

“This is an opportunity for parents and community members to take a deep dive into actual current data,” Tew said.

According to data, Princeton High School students continued to perform well on SAT, AP, and ACT tests.

The high school’s average SAT scores were approximately 300 points above the national average and about 200 points above the state average score. According to the school district, 48 percent of high school students took an AP test and over 88 percent earned a 3 or higher.

“People have probably seen recent reports in the media about ACT scores decreasing nationwide but Princeton High School scores actually went up,” Tew said.

ACT scores across the nation fell to the lowest in 30 years, which experts blame on COVID-19 learning loss.

A recently published report showed that 42 percent of ACT-tested students met none of the benchmarks in English, reading, science and math.

“The high scores that PPS students attained are a huge testament to our students, our staff, and our families," Tew said. "Other high-performing districts saw scores that declined below the state average while PPS schools had a remarkably strong performance.”

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