It’s all about Moving Education Forward

The most important challenge we face in public education today is to improve high schools so that all New Jersey students graduate prepared to succeed in either college or the workplace. We can no longer ignore the fact that too few of our young people graduate from high school ready for today’s competitive economy and complex society.

The New Jersey Association of School Administrators has been in the forefront on the issue of high school redesign for some time now. Over the past few years the NJASA’s Curriculum and Instruction Committee, as well as individual members, have met to discuss a new approach to high school redesign. The NJASA Curriculum and Instruction Committee published a paper titled, “New Jersey Department of Education High School Reform Initiative, Issues, Responses, and Recommendations.” NJASA representatives have also served on the New Jersey High School Redesign Steering Committee. The Committee, in April 2008, presented its recommendations in a policy paper titled, “NJ STEPS: Re-Designing Education in New Jersey for the 21st Century.”

Last week, the New Jersey State Board of Education voted in the affirmative to raise the requirements for earning a high school diploma in New Jersey by phasing in more challenging academic standards over the next seven years (2016). The new policy will employ more challenging math, science and language arts subject tests for high school students.

Ensuring that students meet the new standards is a tough challenge, but not an insurmountable one. It's about high expectations and getting New Jersey's students ready to compete nationally and globally. Educators have long recognized that most students can and will succeed when faced with vigorous academic challenges. We ask nothing of them that they cannot accomplish with the right amount of instruction and inspiration.

Even with optimism about student preparation surrounding the new requirements, there are concerns expressed by NJASA members over their adoption. Many fear that new policies will drop the graduation rate and even push low-performing students out of school. Others voice concern that individual subject assessments will promote isolated content learning, not the integrated curricular approach best suited to prepare students for the 21st century workplace. Still others note that school systems will require greater resources to provide students who are struggling or behind with the necessary support to master the more challenging curriculum.

College is still beyond the reach of almost one-third of all high school students. Today, all of our students need the skills and knowledge contained in the curriculum that was once reserved only for the college-bound. Strong communications skills, knowledge of foreign language and culture, higher-level math and problem-solving skills are needed in technical trades, as well as white-collar professions. The job of K-12 education in New Jersey must be to ensure that all of our students graduate with the ability to fulfill their potential – whether that takes them to higher education or directly to their career.

Educating our students is not an option – it's a mandate if New Jersey is going to continue to compete in an increasingly global world. NJASA members will continue to provide the necessary leadership in addressing the opportunities and challenges which the new standards present for New Jersey educators.