Education Week once again has named New Jersey’s public schools the best in the nation, calculating that achievement based on K-12 achievement, school finance and the chance for success.
New Jersey has been neck-and-neck with Massachusetts for several years, but has topped them once again in the race to be number one.
“New Jersey’s public schools are the best in the nation thanks to the hard work, commitment, creativity, and expertise of public school employees,” said NJEA President Sean M. Spiller. “It’s important for students and staff to take great pride in this designation from Education Week; they’ve worked hard to achieve it and clearly we all plan to hold on to the top spot! We want to thank our partners in education, including other stakeholders and elected leaders who have put public school students first and made decisions based on their best interests. And, of course, we thank the parents and the communities that support our students and schools at the individual and local level. We have a shared vision for student opportunity and success, and when we work together, that vision becomes reality.”
“For our public schools to be named the best in the nation for the third year in a row is a fantastic achievement,” said NJEA Vice President Steve Beatty. “To earn it after nearly two years of a global pandemic demonstrates that public school employees will never stop innovating in order to address our students’ unique needs. I’m so proud of my colleagues in education and so proud to share this achievement with our students and their parents.”
“It’s important to note that school finance is a major part of Education Week’s report,” said NJEA Secretary-Treasurer Petal Robertson. “States and communities that invest in their students and schools invest in the future. New Jersey has been at the top for public education for many years and that investment is going to lead to enormous rewards for our state now and well into the future. Our next challenge is to ensure that the students we educate are able to continue their educations in the state by making college affordable for New Jersey families.”
In March 2021, New Jersey’s pre-K through 12th grade public schools were named the best in the nation by U.S. News and World Report in their annual survey which analyzed preschool enrollment, high school graduation rates and college tuition cost. New Jersey’s public high school graduation rate is 90 percent.
Learn more about Education Week’s rankings here.