New Jersey Leads the Nation in NAEP Scores Even When Demographics Are Taken Into Account

Discovery Garden - Teachers often share their personal passions with their students, and in Northvale, Jodi Sardanis has taken her to a new level. The special education teacher owns a health club and a raw cafe, so living and healthy eating is her passion. Jodi takes her own time and often her own money to create three court yards: an edible one, a Native American and a sustainable yard. She added hydroponic and aquaponics to grow food over the winter and it's been so successful that they students are using a business model to sell the harvest.

A study that adjusts NAEP Scores based on the percent of disadvantaged students in the public schools (New Jersey having fewer disadvantaged students than many other lowering performing states), still finds NJ with the 2nd highest average NAEP score of any state in the country.

Source: Urban Institute. Breaking the Curve: Promises and Pitfalls of Using NAEP Data to Assess the State Role in Student Achievement. October 2015