Post by BrianSullivan on Jan 3, 2011 9:03:31 GMT -5
The following link is a really good article that talks about education problems in NJ. Districts like Freehold Borough will never get ahead or the help that is really needed until there are many changes in Trenton. I agree with most of this article but will cut and paste a few statements that really stand out. Click the link and read the whole thing.
www.app.com/article/20110102/OPINION/101020322/State-s-top-court-pinching-middle-class
The Supreme Court assumed the Legislature's responsibility, defined the needs and mandated school funding levels. Among the edicts was the requirement that the Abbott districts must receive the same per-student spending amount as the highest spending districts in the state. Not the state average, but the highest!.........
......Former state Sen. Leonard Lance, now a congressman, used to remind his colleagues "55-21." Fifty-five percent of the state's public education dollars were going to only 21 percent of the students. By 2006, the ratio was 58 percent to 23 percent. Today it is "60-20."...........
.........In other words, according to the state Supreme Court, $14,184 per year compensates for most socioeconomic disadvantages. However, the results from the first statewide testing disprove the theory. Money is not the answer. Pass rates for all district factor groups, from poor urban districts to wealthy suburban ones, were below 50 percent in math and 20 percent in language arts.......
www.app.com/article/20110102/OPINION/101020322/State-s-top-court-pinching-middle-class
The Supreme Court assumed the Legislature's responsibility, defined the needs and mandated school funding levels. Among the edicts was the requirement that the Abbott districts must receive the same per-student spending amount as the highest spending districts in the state. Not the state average, but the highest!.........
......Former state Sen. Leonard Lance, now a congressman, used to remind his colleagues "55-21." Fifty-five percent of the state's public education dollars were going to only 21 percent of the students. By 2006, the ratio was 58 percent to 23 percent. Today it is "60-20."...........
.........In other words, according to the state Supreme Court, $14,184 per year compensates for most socioeconomic disadvantages. However, the results from the first statewide testing disprove the theory. Money is not the answer. Pass rates for all district factor groups, from poor urban districts to wealthy suburban ones, were below 50 percent in math and 20 percent in language arts.......
