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Average math and reading scores on the “nation’s report card” for New Jersey’s fourth and eighth graders have remained stable since 2022, but a closer examination shows the gap between the state’s lowest- and highest-performing students continues to widen, according to newly released data.

Although not yet bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels, the average scores for New Jersey remained above the national average in math and reading for fourth and eighth graders, results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, also referred to as NAEP, showed.

The data, released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics, are the latest evidence of how dire the effects of the pandemic and remote learning were for all students, especially those already falling behind their peers well before 2020.

“There’s a widening achievement gap in this country and it has worsened since the pandemic,” said Peggy Carr, the NCES commissioner, in a phone briefing with news outlets ahead of the release. “We all need to come together as partners to catch these students up and improve achievement.”

Nationally, student achievement has not returned to pre-pandemic performance levels, though in some states, such as Louisiana, students in the lowest- and highest-performing percentiles showed improvement, according to NCES.

Though New Jersey’s averages remained above national levels, the results also showed that a significant proportion of students scored below NAEP proficiency levels. For example, 62% of fourth graders scored below proficient in reading — a smaller proportion compared to the 70% of fourth graders who scored below proficiency nationally.

Trends from the New Jersey results mirror those seen in the state’s standardized test results from 2024, which the state education department released in December.

In the 2024 New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, average statewide scores improved incrementally over the prior year. Despite the minor upticks in average scores, that data also demonstrated persistent disparities between subgroups, such as Black students and white or Asian American students.

“It’s extremely frustrating to know that after all the investments, the number of programs over the years, this achievement gap is persistent and still remains significant,” state school board member Arcelio Aponte said at the time.

A representative sample of fourth and eighth graders across New Jersey took the national assessment between January and March of last year. The results for reading and math are reported on a scale of 0-500 and grouped by proficiency levels of basic, proficient, and advanced. The NCES is adamant that these levels of achievement do not align with states’ grade-level proficiency standards.

The NAEP scores are also grouped under lowest-performing students, who fall in the bottom 25th percentile of scores; middle-performing students in the average 50th percentile; and highest-performing students in the above-average 75th percentile.

Lowest-performing students did worse in reading than in 2022

New Jersey’s lowest-performing fourth graders scored two points lower than they did in 2022 in the reading exam, going from a score of 198 to 196. This was the lowest score this group has had in the last 20 years. In 2003, the lowest-performing fourth graders scored a 201 on the reading exam.

Meanwhile, the state’s highest-performing fourth graders scored a 252 in the 2024 reading exam, a point higher than 2022. Although an incremental increase for that group of students, the score represents a 56-point difference, the widest gap between highest- and lowest-performing fourth graders in reading in the last decade for New Jersey.

The gap was similar for eighth grade reading scores between these two groups, with a 55-point difference between lowest- and highest-performing students. That gap exceeded by 12 points the 43-point gap between these groups in 2013.

“NAEP has reported declines in reading achievement consistently since 2019, and the continued declines since the pandemic suggest we’re facing complex challenges that cannot be fully explained by the impact of COVID-19,” said Daniel McGrath, associate commissioner for NCES, in a press release.

A similar trend also followed in eighth grade math, but fourth grade math showed a minor improvement. The lowest performing students in fourth grade math scored an average of 217, one point higher than they did in 2022. Even so, the 48-point gap between the lowest- and highest-performing students in math also reached the widest it’s been in 10 years.

Some researchers in New Jersey are currently looking into the role of schools in positively and drastically improving scores for the state’s lowest-achieving students. The state’s Department of Education last year launched the “Promising Practices Project,” which will task researchers with investigating the best practices used in 52 schools statewide that have proven to help improve student achievement and learning.

Family and community impact can have a very significant impact on closing gaps between the state’s highest- and lowest-performing students, said Charles Payne, director of the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, in an interview with Chalkbeat this week.

“But we have the most systematic evidence on schools,” Payne said. “When they’re operating at the highest levels, schools have enough power to overcome most of the disadvantages that are associated with race and class.”

Schools on the “highest levels” that positively impact student achievement have several key characteristics, Payne added. Those characteristics include a collaborative environment for teachers, the use of data to support instruction, setting high expectations for staff and students, and emphasizing social and emotional learning, Payne said.

Data from NAEP showed that some states have improved significantly already, even reaching 2019 scores, including Alabama in fourth-grade math and Louisiana in fourth-grade reading.

“These results, as sobering as they are, show that once you unpack them, there is hope,” said Carr, the NCES commissioner.

Catherine Carrera is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Newark. Contact Catherine at ccarrera@chalkbeat.org.

Araceli Argueta, organizing and advocacy director for the American Friends Service Committee’s Immigrant Rights program, said if an immigrant is taken into custody, the Constitution guarantees they have certain rights.

“They have the right to make a call, they have the right to an attorney, to have representation, and that representation to be facilitated for a due process,” she said.

However, she noted that immigrants are sometimes not given these rights.

“Right now, what we are doing is we are collecting all the data from people that have been detained, and we get the information, and we ask for an intake interview with these people who have been detained,” Argueta said.

Morales said many immigrants that are picked up in ICE raids aren’t aware they have any rights.

“You have the right to remain silent, not speak to an ICE officer, you have the right to not allow ICE agents into your home or into your business,” he said.

He added that when 10 or 15 armed ICE agents show up at the front door, many people get intimidated and scared.

White House “border czar” Tom Homan has repeatedly stated that ICE operations are focusing on going after immigrants who are wanted killers and gang members with criminal records, but Morales insisted many people who have been picked up in sweeps are not criminals.

“A lot of innocent people in a lot of communities are going to be hurt by this,” he said. “It’s going to erode the trust communities have in government.”

He urged New Jersey lawmakers to pass proposed legislation called the Immigrant Trust Act, which would create privacy protections for immigrant communities.

After the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, students in one New Jersey school district will have a couple extra hours to sleep in.

Officials in the Gloucester City, New Jersey school district announced a two-hour delayed opening for Feb. 10, 2025 — the Monday morning after the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl LIX starts at 6:30 p.m. With both the game and the Super Bowl halftime show — headlined this year by Kendrick Lamar, with SZA as a guest — it’s very likely things won’t wrap until after 10 p.m.  

“It is a rare and special time for families to watch our local professional football team compete in the Super Bowl. We feel that it’s important to give students and staff the opportunity to enjoy the game with their families and still attend school & work the next day safely and well-rested,” Gloucester City High School wrote on its Facebook page.

The post concluded with “have a nice evening. Go Birds.”

Gloucester City is just across the river from South Philadelphia.

Philadelphia area schools had delayed openings for past Super Bowl appearance

The Gloucester City School District also had a delay the morning after Super Bowl LVII in 2023, when the Eagles also faced the Chiefs. That year, the School District of Philadelphia, Archdiocese of Philadelphia and many other districts also announced delayed openings to allow students and parents to sleep in.

Eagles fans had a long night as the city of Philadelphia toasted the Birds’ NFC title game victory over the Washington Commanders with a massive party along Broad Street on Sunday. There was dancing, singing, Eagles chants and of course, a few people climbed some poles.

Mayor Cherelle Parker said Philadelphia police and emergency responders handled the crowds well, but she warned residents not to fire guns in any celebration. In a video widely shared on social media, a man could be seen firing a gun into the air multiple times as a large crowd of fans gathered at Frankford and Cottman avenues after the NFC title game win.

Should the day after the Super Bowl be a holiday?

Some groggy NFL fans have lobbied for the league to add another game to the regular season schedule, lengthening the season by one more week. Teams would then play 18 games over 19 weeks, with one week for a bye.

That extra week would make Super Bowl Sunday the day before Presidents’ Day, when schools, banks and government offices are closed — a natural day off for many parents and students.

The next chance for that schedule change to happen would be when the NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement expires in 2030, CBS News Boston reported.