My Central Jersey.com, 2/29/2016

A new study casts a shadow on the prospects of New Jersey students. Many Garden State residents think that poor-performing schools are confined to low-income neighborhoods in the inner city. Yet according to a study from the Pacific Research Institute, the data show that public schools in New Jersey’s affluent suburbs are also failing. The study compiled SAT scores from predominantly middle-class high schools where at least 80 percent of students took the test. At nearly three in 10 schools, more than half of students failed to meet the college readiness benchmark score of 1550.

New Jersey Family, March 2016

Homework has become a flashpoint in arguments and comparisons with the rest of the world about whether American schools have become fixated on test scores and proficiency metrics to the detriment of student and teacher mental and physical health. Is this disdain for homework just a fad? Or is it a real issue based on the academic and psychological needs of our kids?

Washington Post, 2/22/2016

A new study finds that despite the widespread adoption of  Common Core, individual states are still setting different definitions of “proficient” on annual math and reading tests. This disconnect makes it increasingly difficult for parents to know whether the standards are high enough to truly prepare students for 21st century learning.

Press of Atlantic City Press, 2/16/16

The high rate of remediation at county colleges and the challenge those students face in graduating have been ongoing issues in the state’s 19 community colleges. As many as two-thirds of new students require at least one remedial course.

Some can spend an entire semester or more in remedial classes, often getting discouraged and dropping out.