Rutgers Partners with Department of Education to Improve K-12 Learning Outcomes
Rutgers Partners with Department of Education to Improve K-12 Learning Outcomes
The New Jersey Promising Practices Project examines “positive outlier” schools to develop a model other schools may emulate.
The New Jersey State Policy Lab and Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers University launched the New Jersey Promising Practices Project in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Education to bolster K-12 student learning outcomes.
The Department of Education developed the project after most New Jersey schools experienced declines in learning outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. But state officials found roughly 15 percent of public schools increased proficiency rates in math or language arts in the first assessment year since the pandemic (2018-2019 to 2021-2022). Motivated by these observations, they formed a plan to identify and document “promising practices” for learning acceleration in K-12 schools throughout the state.
Since the project’s launch in 2023, Rutgers researchers identified “positive outlier” public schools in the state based on Department of Education school performance reports, student demographic and testing data, and socioeconomic files from the National Center for Education Statistics. These positive outliers include schools which have demonstrated positive student learning outcomes when comparing pre- to post-pandemic performance in English language arts and mathematics. Rutgers researchers interviewed administrators, teachers, and other school staff to identify innovations and best practices that improved student learning outcomes in 52 of these schools.
“We’re delighted to work with the New Jersey Department of Education to identify strategies for improving student learning outcomes for all students, and especially for historically marginalized student groups,” said Elizabeth Cooner, executive director of the Policy Lab and principal investigator of the Promising Practices Project. “We have had the privilege of talking with truly inspiring educators who are transforming students’ lives with their innovative practices. By sharing these promising practices with other schools, we hope to expand opportunities for student learning across the state.”
“I am thrilled that the New Jersey Department of Education has commissioned such a bold, statewide study to understand and document the promising practices in schools which mitigated the negative impact of the pandemic on student learning,” said Vandeen Campbell, associate director of the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers University–Newark. “The study presents an opportunity to learn from schools that improved performance, maintained already strong performance, or performed better than expected. It should be exciting to showcase and discuss what schools have shared in the coming months.”
The Promising Practices team will present research findings at regional convenings and conferences in December 2024. Additional information related to the New Jersey Promising Practices Project and future events can be found on the Promising Practices website.
These public schools participated in the Promising Practices Project:
Atlantic
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Atlantic City School District
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Chelsea Heights School
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Atlantic
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Galloway Township Public School District
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Reeds Road Elementary School
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Atlantic
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Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District
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Oakcrest High School
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Bergen
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Bergenfield Borough School District
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Hoover Elementary School
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Bergen
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Garfield Public School District
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Woodrow Wilson School #5
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Bergen
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Lodi School District
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Roosevelt School
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Camden
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Cherry Hill School District
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Rosa International Middle School
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Camden
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Haddonfield School District
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Central School
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Cape May
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Lower Cape May Regional School District
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Richard M. Teitelman Middle School
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Cape May
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Ocean City School District
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Ocean City High School
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Cumberland
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Millville School District
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Rieck Avenue Elementary School
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Cumberland
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Vineland Public School District
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Marie Durand Elementary School
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Essex
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Caldwell-West School District
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Lincoln Elementary School
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Essex
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Newark Public School District
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University High School
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Essex
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Orange Board of Education School District
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Orange Prep Academy School of Inquiry and Innovation
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Gloucester
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Deptford Township Public School District
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Good Intent Elementary School
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Gloucester
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Gateway Regional High School District
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Gateway Regional High School
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Gloucester
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Monroe Township Public School District
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Radix Elementary
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Gloucester
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Swedesboro-Woolwich School District
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Walter Hill School
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Gloucester
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Township of Franklin School District
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Caroline L. Reutter School
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Gloucester
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Washington Township School District
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Birches Elementary School
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Gloucester
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Washington Township School District
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Whitman Elementary School
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Hudson
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Hoboken Public School District
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Joseph F Brandt Elementary School
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Hudson
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Union City School District
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Sara M. Gilmore Academy
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Hunterdon
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Flemington-Raritan Regional School District
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Reading-Fleming Intermediate School
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Mercer
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Princeton Charter School
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Princeton Charter School
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Middlesex
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Woodbridge Township School District
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Oak Tree Road Elementary School
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Middlesex
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Woodbridge Township School District
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Robert Mascenik Elementary School
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Monmouth
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College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School District
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College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School
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Monmouth
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Hazlet Township Public School District
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Middle Road School
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Monmouth
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Middletown Township Public School District
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Navesink Elementary School
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Morris
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Parsippany-Troy Hills Township School District
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Mount Tabor Elementary School
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Ocean
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Berkeley Township School District
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H & M Potter School
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Ocean
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Brick Township Public School District
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Brick Township Memorial High School
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Ocean
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Lacey Township School District
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Cedar Creek Elementary School
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Passaic
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Passaic City School District
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Passaic Gifted and Talented Academy School No. 20
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Passaic
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Passaic City School District
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Passaic Preparatory Academy
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Passaic
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Paterson Public School District
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Charles J. Riley, School 9
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Passaic
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Paterson Public School District
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School 28
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Passaic
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Wayne Township Public School District
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Packanack Elementary School
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Passaic
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West Milford Township Public School District
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Upper Greenwood Lake Elementary School
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Somerset
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Bound Brook School District
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Community Middle School
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Somerset
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North Plainfield School District
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North Plainfield Middle School
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Somerset
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South Bound Brook Public School District
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Robert Morris School
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Sussex
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Hamburg School District
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Hamburg School
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Union
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College Achieve Central Charter School
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College Achieve Central Charter School
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Union
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Cranford Public School District
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Orange Avenue School
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Union
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Elizabeth Public Schools
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Elmora School No. 12
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Union
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Plainfield Public School District
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Dewitt D. Barlow Elementary School
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Union
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Plainfield Public School District
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Frederic W. Cook Elementary School
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Union
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Roselle Public School District
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Harrison Elementary School
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Warren
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North Warren Regional School District
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North Warren Regional School
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The New Jersey State Policy Lab assists the state and its many communities in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies and programs by conducting rigorous, evidence-based research that considers equity, efficiency, and efficacy of public policies and programs in holistic and innovative ways. The lab is run as a partnership between the Bloustein School in Rutgers–New Brunswick and the School of Public Affairs and Administration in Rutgers–Newark. The Policy Lab is funded by the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE), and the contents of this report do not necessarily represent the policy or endorsement of OSHE or the State of New Jersey.
Since it was established in 2000, the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies has been a signature component of Rutgers University–Newark’s commitment to be an anchor institution for the metropolitan area. We strive to be neutral ground, where people of disparate views and interests can come together around questions of mutual interests. The Cornwall Center sponsors research projects, publications, conferences, symposia, seminars, workshops, public forums, and incubates projects translating research into effective practice with the result of revitalizing Newark and similar communities in the region and state.
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