TRENTON – The results of a high school assessment, given to 11th grade students in spring 2022 (the graduating class of 2023), will not count toward their graduation requirements.
High school juniors took the “exit exam” in math and English/language arts, known as the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA), as a requirement to earn their diplomas in June 2023. However, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law July 5 waiving that requirement.
The NJGPA will now be considered a field test. The data from the 2022 spring test will be used to help develop future tests for graduation.
Some state Assembly members said the bill, now law, was necessary to offset the effects the pandemic had on New Jersey students. Many students have faced challenges during Covid, with some students not having appropriate remote learning tools or educational supports. Online learning negatively affected many students, especially economically disadvantaged children.
“From mental health concerns to learning delays, our students have been through a lot and what they need now is our support, not the anxiety and stress that comes with taking a new high-stakes assessment test,” the sponsors of the bill said in a joint statement.
David Salvo, superintendent, Middle Township School District, stated that he thinks students should be given other exam opportunities to graduate from high school.
He also added, “The state should approve assessments that track student academic progress throughout the year, indicating a student’s strengths and deficiencies. This data could be used to develop an academic program that meets the needs of the students. No one-sized educational program works for all.”
He notes, “Benchmark scores on other local/state/national standardized tests summon more student interest than the state graduation test and is more relevant to them.”
Many students take college entrance exams, like the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) or the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB).
A retired high school teacher who resides in Lower Township told the Herald, “I think if the student has met all course and attendance requirements, then the student should be able to graduate. I would hear my students discussing their concern about always having to take another test.”
Many educational leaders agree that a student’s academic transcript/report card is what is meaningful and accurate, and that students’ grades are a much stronger predictor of academic performance than one standardized exit exam.
The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), the state’s largest teachers union, is opposed to mandatory high school graduation exams. However, New Jersey has required high school students to pass a graduation assessment since 1979.
There is no federal mandate requiring exit testing for high school graduation.
Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) is calling for a solution to high school graduation tests. She is sponsoring a bill that would direct the New Jersey Department of Education to find an alternative to the proficiency exam.
She states, “Some form of benchmark testing still needs to be part of the education system so school officials can analyze data on teachers and students.”
Her bill, S50, introduced June 20, would revise requirements concerning graduation, but would include some type of high school assessment.
She added, “I do firmly believe assessments are important. We need that data, not to penalize, not to create stress, not to be punitive, but to have a measure.”
The New Jersey Business and Industry Association did not take a position on the bill, but stated, “Having higher standards and having accountability is a good thing. Any attempt to lower standards is always very worrisome in terms of the future workforce.”
According to a statement from the Education Law Center, a Newark-based nonprofit, “Exit tests like the NJGPA have no instructional value. Their only purpose is punitive, to deny diplomas to students who stayed in school and who have met all the course credit and other requirements to graduate.”
Murphy waived graduation testing requirements for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years because of the Covid pandemic. He campaigned in 2017 on eliminating the requirement of high school exit exams, but nothing has been passed in the state Legislature.
New Jersey is one of only 11 states that requires the passing of an exam to receive a high school diploma.
To contact Sarah Renninger, email srenninger@cmcherald.com.
