Adjourn to executive session to discuss personnel and legal matters. May I please have a motion? Motion. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Board member Shekada. And may I please have a second? Second. Thank you very much, board member Berry. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Thank you. Any opposed? We will go into executive session, and we will be back at 10AM for those of you viewing online. Thank you. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You could be that teacher. New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country with competitive salaries
and valuable benefits. Be that teacher. Visit teachinspire.mj.gov. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You could be that teacher in New Jersey. You'll help shape the next generation alongside a dedicated community of educators. New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country with competitive salaries, valuable valuable benefits, and a solid pension plan. So be that teacher. Make an impact. Teach. Inspire. New Jersey. To learn more, visit teachinspire.nj.gov. If you're a teacher, you've had students tell you how much you mean to them.
And for everyone who does, more feel that way but may not say it. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You're that teacher to a lot of people. Teach, inspire, New Jersey. If you're a teacher, you've probably had students tell you how much you mean to them. And for everyone who does, there are more who feel that way but may not say it. You can't know how many, but it's more than you think because you've done more than teach. You've inspired. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You're that teacher to a lot of people.
Teach. Inspire. New Jersey. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You could be that teacher. New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country with competitive salaries and valuable benefits. Be that teacher. Visit teachinspire.nj.gov. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You could be that teacher in New Jersey. You'll help shape the next generation alongside a dedicated community of educators. New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country with competitive salaries, valuable benefits, and a solid pension plan. So be that teacher.
Make an impact. Teach. Inspire. New Jersey. To learn more, visit teachinspire.nj.gov. If you're a teacher, you've had students tell you how much you mean to them. And for everyone who does, more feel that way but may not say it. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You're that teacher to a lot of people. Teach, Inspire, New Jersey. If you're a teacher, you've probably had students tell you how much you mean to them. And for everyone who does, there are more who feel that way but may not say it.
You can't know how many, but it's more than you think because you've done more than teach. You've inspired. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You're that teacher to a lot of people. Teach. Inspire. New Jersey. Gov. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You could be that teacher. New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country with competitive salaries and valuable benefits. Be that teacher. Visit teachinspire.nj.gov. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You could be that teacher in New Jersey.
You'll help shape the next generation alongside a dedicated community of educators. New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country with competitive salaries, valuable benefits, and a solid pension plan. So be that teacher. Make an impact. Teach. Inspire. New Jersey. To learn more, visit teachinspire.nj.gov. If you're a teacher, you've had students tell you how much you mean to them. And for everyone who does, more feel that way but may not say it. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You're that teacher to a lot of people.
Teach, Inspire, New Jersey. If you're a teacher, you've probably had students tell you how much you mean to them. And for everyone who does, there are more who feel that way but may not say it. You can't know how many, but it's more than you think because you've done more than teach. You've inspired. Remember that teacher who changed your life? You're that teacher to a lot of people. Teach. Inspire. New Jersey. Alright. Alright. Good morning, everyone. I'd like to reconvene and resume to the public portion of our meeting. Whereas, consistent with the provision of NJSA 10 colon four dash 12 b, the state
board will now adjourn from executive session to resume the open session portion of our meeting. May I please have a motion? So moved. Thank you very much, Doctor. Butcher. May I have a second? Second. Thank you very much, Board Member Shada. Appreciate it. We're now going to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and I would like to ask if Mary Beth would like to lead us in that. Absolutely. Thank you. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for
all. Thank you. Welcome back. Thank you for joining us today. I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was tremendous. I'd like to welcome you all to Trenton. And if you are online to to view with us, these state board meetings are accessible to the public for viewing on the department's YouTube channel. I would like to advise you that YouTube provides readily accessible language translation options for the closed captioning. If you are viewing our simulcast currently, you may use the settings option in YouTube
about subtitles, automatic translations, and closed captioning in multiple languages. So we'll continue with the meeting now. May I please have a motion, to, discuss the approval of our minutes from our November 5 meeting that we had. So moved. Thank you. Are there any questions or comments regarding the minutes from the meeting? Hearing none, may I please have a second? Second. Thank you. I'm not sure who said it first. Sorry. Maybe, maybe Diane, Bort, did you hear?
Okay. Alright. Thank you. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Motion passes. Anyone I'm looking on our online individual. Thank you. Okay. The State Board will not be holding public testimony today as there are no regulatory topics scheduled. For the month of January, however, the State Board will receive testimony from registered members of the public on any educational topic of their choice. As January's public session testimony session is an open topic public testimony session.
The the proposed amendments to chapter nine b related to the school nurse endorsements will also be a topic for January. Interested members of the public may register for public testimony beginning 12/17/2025 and and, last until noon on 12/31/2025. The state board members scheduled, for this public testimony are Vice President Ned Johnson, Ron
Butcher, Ahmed Shahada, and Jeanette Pena are scheduled to receive the public testimony in January. Okay. So we'll go ahead with, my reports. I'd like to first introduce my tremendous our tremendous student representative here, and, this year's representative is Caitlin DeRose, a junior from East Brunswick High School in Middlesex County. And her advisor is here today, Bonnie Van Card. Thank you very much. She's tremendous.
We are very enchanted with all the good tutoring because she has just been amazing. So, when you're ready, please offer us your remarks. Thank you President Goldenberg and good morning everyone. When speaking with many people in this room the last thing I say is see you next month. As student representative my main responsibility is to serve as a student voice provide monthly reports to the State Board of Education at their public meetings. As a result, there's a common misconception that outside of these meetings, I transform back
into a normal high schooler until the next month. Fortunately, I've had the honor to continue as a liaison between students in the State Board of Education in various statewide events. What does the State Board of Education do? What I originally thought was a question limited to my peers, many administrators and adults lack sufficient understanding of the relationship between the State Board of Education and their local boards of education. What I am privileged to witness are the numerous occasions where administrators, teachers, and other stakeholders took the effort to learn about the State Board of Education and hear more
from its members, including myself. At the New Jersey School Boards Association workshop, I was honored to be featured on a panel with other state board members, including President Cathy Goldenberg. There, I was able to share my thoughts on relevant statewide and national developments in education and share student perspectives on relevant changes which may lack student voice. I answered various questions on what my role means to me and the 1,400,000 students of New Jersey and shared the impact of having a student representative on both state and local boards of education. At this workshop, I was truly excited to also meet many people from statewide organizations,
which also look into mobilizing student representation. About two weeks later, I was humbled to give an opening speech for the State Board of Education meeting at the New Jersey Education Association twenty twenty five convention. Joined by a dear teacher of mine and many others of the East Brunswick High School community, I was surrounded in a dynamic environment of educators, and I was grateful to represent how their effort impacted students by using direct student testimonials. The keynote speaker for this convention was actress Malala Yousafzai, and hearing from her was truly inspiring.
I was also fortunate enough to personally meet Malala following the keynote session, and from now on, I will have an amazing tutors in a lie. As many as much as I was inspired by earlier events, I was also empowered by hearing from teachers at the meeting with the State Board of Education. From their testimonies, it was clear their dedication and passion for the well-being of students. As a student, such commitment to meeting with the State Board of Education and the care to advocate for their students continue to make teachers incredibly special. I would like to thank the many people at the State Board of Education and the NJEA who helped support me with these events.
Diane Shoner and Stephanie Russo, who are excellent liaisons, Elizabeth Eustis, who assisted it as a liaison for the NJEA convention, and who I credit for helping me meet Malala, NJEA vice president, Petal Robertson, who invited me to use my voice to set the tone for the meeting. My teacher, Lisa Kunkleman, who accompanied me to the NJEA convention and let me use her chalkboard to plan my speech. And finally, my mom for many things, but definitely driving me to Atlantic City and back twice in two weeks. As a student representative, I'm honored to be at the intersectionality of students, educators, and
education policy. These past events have empowered me in my role and on a personal level. And rather than see you next month, I hope to end more conversations with where will I see you next. Thank you. Thank you, Sally. Thank you. You did a phenomenal job and always do when you speak, so we're so proud to have you. I don't know if anybody else has anything at this point to say, but, feel free, please, as we discuss things to also join us in the discussion and ask
any pertinent questions that you feel because it's always good to hear from you. So Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. We'll go ahead with, committee meetings and discuss what we've been busy discussing. I think we'll start, please, with the Administrative Policy Committee, which met on 11/20/2025. I could go ahead and give you a brief synopsis on that. The Administrative Policy Committee met on 11/20/2025 to receive an overview of the 2425 statewide
assessment results and the summation of the adoption level rulemaking for chapters nine, 9a, and 9b. Professional standards, New Jersey educational preparation programs, as well as the State Board of Examiners and certification. Since both of these items are on today's, agenda, we will hear from them, and so I would like to refrain from providing a longer report as we'll get into much more detail. So, that was that meeting. And then we had an instructional policy meeting, which met, and I would like to
and that was on 11/21/2025. And, Doctor. Ned Johnson, if you'd like to opine on that meeting. I'm sorry. Excuse me. We're hearing from static static. Is it alright if I give this report for you, sir? Thank you. We're hearing a lot of static on your end. Do you wanna try one more time, doctor Johnson? See if we can get rid of the static? Get rid of the static? Yeah. I'm being advised that if you need your speaker, we'll be able to hear from you without static. It is muted. We can hear you. Go ahead.
Go ahead. The instructional policy committee met on 11/21/2025 to begin a series of discussions on the draft visions to the New Jersey student learning standards. We discussed three content areas, world languages, computer science design and thinking, and visual and performing arts. Since this item is on today's agenda for discussion, I will refrain from providing a longer report. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Very good. Okay. And last, I'll, speak about the petition for rulemaking that, we received from James Garcia.
So it was, regarding military science endorsement, the petition for rulemaking. The state board received a petition excuse me, a petition for rulemaking from James Garcia on 09/22/2025. The petition requested amendments at NJAC six a colon nine b dash 11.8 to delete the requirement for a candidate to document twenty years of military experience to qualify for a standard instructional certificate with military science endorsement.
Commissioner Dame and I have determined that the best course of action is to approve our petitioners request for additional necessary changes at NJAC 6A colon 11.8 both A and B. The department will be discussing these amendments later today during items for discussion at line item, excuse me, at item D. D. In order to meet the Office of Administrative Law and State Board requirements for timely processing of rules related to the approved petitions, the state board will be expediting this
rule by making and moving the proposal level to next month. I strongly encourage interested parties to submit written request and written comments on the proposed rules and remind you that in person public testimony will be received for this March 2026. And now I'd like to kindly turn this over to Commissioner Damer. Thank you so much. Thank you. That's great. Okay. Today I'm pleased to share the results from the spring twenty twenty five statewide assessments.
These results provide an important snapshot of student learning across New Jersey and serve as a critical tool for guiding our next steps. As we continue to advance our shared commitment to excellence for all of our children, understanding where students are thriving and where additional support is needed. Will all help us in focusing our initiatives for maximum impact. Statewide assessments are not the sole measure of success, but they are a valuable data point in our broader system of continuous improvement. They allow us to monitor progress over time, identify trends and ensure that resources are
directed where they can make the greatest difference. Today's discussion will highlight key findings, areas of growth, and opportunities for targeted intervention for their statewide initiatives and programs. Together, we will use this information to strengthen pathways for all learners, ensure that every student in New Jersey is prepared for success in school, career, and in life. Doctor Jordan Schiff and John Bogzani are here and they will provide more detail. Thank you, Commissioner. Good morning President Goldenberg, Vice President Johnson and members of the State Board of Education.
Today we will present the results from the spring twenty twenty five state assessments. As we review student performance, we will provide the results and also highlight key initiatives and programs offered by the department to support local education agencies as they work to improve student outcomes. The assessments we will discuss today are the New Jersey student learning assessments or NJSLA for English language arts mathematics and science, the New Jersey graduation proficiency assessment also known as NJGPA, the access for English language learners and the dynamic learning maps.
The first program we will present is the NJSLA for ELA, math, and science. Here we can see trends, the overall trends since 2016. Here we can see the overall trends since 2016. It is important to note that the science assessment was field tested in 2018 and had the first operational administration in the twenty eighteen, nineteen school year. This explains why the line begins at 2019. There are no data listed for 2020 or 2021 as the NJSLA was not administered
those years due to the COVID nineteen pandemic. Resuming administration in 2022, the results were as expected and demonstrated a performance decline in all subjects immediately after the pandemic, similar to what was seen across the country. Moving into 2023 and '24, the data shows that there is improvement in performance in both English language arts and mathematics, but science remained consistent. 2025 continues to show improved performance in ELA and math proficiency rates.
And this year, science has demonstrated substantial growth overall, surpassing pre pandemic performance. Student performance in 2025 continues an upward trend of achievement since 2022. You will notice there are two separate lines for mathematics. In 2022, the U. S Department of Education required New Jersey to change its requirement regarding participation in advanced mathematics assessments for geometry and algebra, too. Students enrolled in these courses were not required to participate unless it was their first
assessment in high school. This had the effect of only the most advanced mathematics students participating in these assessments, increase in overall performance. This change remained in effect for 2025. For ease of comparison over time, the solid gold line represents the mathematics results for grades three through eight and algebra one excluding geometry and algebra two. The performance on the science assessment remains well below the performance on math and ELA. We'd offer two insights on this trend.
First, the implementation of the next generation science standards or NGSS represented a major change in pedagogical approach from the New Jersey core curriculum standards. Second, there was a shift from an emphasis on measuring rote memorization of facts and definitions, which is what the New Jersey assessment skills and knowledge in the New Jersey biology competency test were focused on. Two, an emphasis on measuring the student's ability to use science and engineering practices to
further their understanding of new and novel phenomena. We continue to provide districts and educators professional development and other resources to support implementation of this complex and demanding science instruction. This slide shows the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectation levels four and five on each English language is arts assessment by grade. As we look across the charts and focus on the results from '24 25, the data shows improvements in nearly all grades.
This slide shows the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations again levels four and five on each mathematics assessment by grade. The grade designation for mathematics refers to the specific assessment. Students in grade seven and eight may be participating in one of the end of course assessments in place of their grade level assessment. Student performance has increased in nearly all grade levels and end of course assessments in mathematics. The geometry and algebra two stand out given large gains and high performance when compared
with the twenty twenty four results. These significant improvements in geometry and algebra two are impressive and a testament to the hard work of dedicated teachers working with motivated students to achieve at these levels. I'd like to draw your attention to the student performance on the eighth grade assessment. It is important to note that these results are not representative of all grade eight math students. Approximately thirty percent of all grade eight students were enrolled in an advanced mathematics course such as algebra or geometry, and therefore would not have participated in the grade eight
assessment. Therefore, the students who took the eighth grade and JSLA math assessment represented here are a subset of the total eighth grade population. They represent the students who did not take algebra one, geometry, or algebra two in eighth grade, and therefore cannot be compared to the performance of students in prior grades. Although we do see growth from 24 to 25, the overall performance is lower for this grade than, the others, which might be expected as a portion of the students taking the more advanced mathematics courses are removed from the tested population at this grade.
This slide shows the percentage of students achieving proficient or advanced proficient levels three and four on each science assessment by the three grades where students are assessed. The every student succeeds act or ESSA requires states to test students in science at least one in each of three grade spans. Grades three through five, six through nine, and ten through 12. Please note that the science assessments are only administered to students in grades five, eight,
and 11. The fifth grade test addresses content from grades three through five. The eighth grade covers all middle school science standards, and the eleventh grade test covers all high school science standards. Both grades five and eleven are demonstrating greater proficiency rates than pre pandemic levels. Grade eight is less than 1% away from achieving at pre pandemic levels. Although science remains an area of focus, observing growth in the science assessment is an achievement as the assessment covers material across three grade levels.
It is through the dedication of New Jersey science educators that progress has and continues to be shown. The next section Can I just interrupt you for a second? We're going through this. I don't know if people have questions rather than getting getting to the end and going back since we're starting the new. Does anyone have any questions? If not, we'll continue. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. The next section of the presentation will focus on the performance of the various demographic and student groups. This slide shows the aggregate ELA results when broken down by racial or ethnic groups.
As we present the student demographic groups, we would like to acknowledge that this is not a complete list of demographics. The four groups reported here on include black and African American students, Asians, Hispanic students, and white students. And they were selected because of their large percentage of the New Jersey student population. While all demographic groups are important, groups with low student counts have not traditionally been reported in the public presentation of results, specifically native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders, American
Indian or Alaskan native, two or more races and other. Results for all student groups may be found on the department's website. Combined our students demonstrated an increase in performance at 0.9%. Our black or African American students demonstrated the greatest amount of improvement at 1.6% increase, which exceeded the growth of the all student group. Hispanic students demonstrated a 0.9% increase, white students at 1.4% increase, and Asian students at 0.3%
decrease when compared to the 2024 performance. In 2019, it was observed that the difference between the highest performing student group and our lowest performing student group was 45.4%. This grew to 48.3% in 2022 coming out of the pandemic and is showing some reduction in 2025 at 43.4%. While the 2025 results represent the smallest performance gap observed since the implementation of the park assessment in 2016, the fact that this gap exists is an indication that there
is a lot of work still left to be done. Significant investments in ELA teaching and learning have been made over the past few years all all designed to provide additional supports to ELAs and educators for improving ELA outcomes and we will discuss those state level initiatives in a moment. This slide shows the aggregate ELA results of economically disadvantaged students, multilingual learners and students with disabilities. All three student, groups demonstrated an increase in performance from twenty twenty four to twenty twenty five. They are all performing significantly below the all student average.
However, these student groups have been the focus of several state level initiatives and projects which we will discuss in a moment. This slide shows the aggregate math results when broken down by racial or ethnic groups. Combined, our students demonstrated an increase in performance at 2.1%. Our black or African American, Hispanic and white students each demonstrated improvement greater than 2% while our Asian students demonstrated a performance increase of 1.6%. In 2019 it was observed that the difference between the highest performing student group and
our lowest performing student group was 54.8%. This grew to 56.7% in 2022 coming out of the pandemic and is showing some reduction in 2025 at 55.2%. The performance gap is still larger than it was pre pandemic. To help support further closure, the Office of Standards has offered technical assistance sessions and learning lounges targeted at providing educators additional strategies and providing a high quality education which we will discuss in further detail in a moment.
This slide shows the aggregate math results of economically disadvantaged students, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities as compared to the all student average. While all three student groups demonstrated an increase in performance, they are all performing significantly below the all student average. Now moving to science, this slide shows the aggregate science results when broken down by racial or ethnic groups. New Jersey's black or African American students demonstrated a 1.8 increase, white students a 2% increase, Hispanic students a 2.1% increase and Asian students experienced a 2.2%
increase in proficiency. In 2019 it was observed that the difference between the highest performing student group and our lowest performing student group was 45.2%. This remains consistent at 45% in 2022 coming out of the pandemic and grew slightly to 45.8% in 2025. Consistent with our other slides, this slide shows the aggregate science results of economically disadvantaged students, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities as compared to the all student average. While all three students group demonstrate an increase in performance from 2024 to 2025 and
are performing they are all performing significantly below the all student average. Now at this time, we can turn to the twenty twenty five results of the New Jersey graduation proficiency assessment or NJ GPA unless there's other questions. Yeah. I'd like to ask the board if they have questions. We got to go through this through our committee work, but some of the board members weren't in committee. So Absolutely. Are there questions at this time? Can I ask a question about the the science? What science areas in eleventh grade are we targeting? Is that biology, chemistry?
Is it is it all different areas? Yeah. So it's it's all of the, the standard area, and mister Bozani can talk in more specifics about what exactly is assessed. And does does it break them down, like biology, chemistry, you know, versus one? Because every school seems like a lot of the high schools have different some eleventh graders are taking physics. Is is that broken down at all? Yeah. It's not an end of course assessment as the biology proficiency assessment was. But it it's just a general so everyone's taking the same test in science even
though they may not be exposed to some physics. It's a little piece of everything. They they are all tested on the same content. Okay. That's that that so they're all tested on the same content, and it's kind of gives some, the if you were if you had taken physics, might you perform a little bit better on some questions than others? I'm just interested on on how we're looking at all all of science because it is, you know, so many different areas.
Yep. Please, John. So with the science test specifically, while it does cover all standards, districts still do have the flexibility on their curriculum on how they're implementing those standards to the students. So a student that may be in their junior year taking physics I mean, when we're looking across all of the standards, those physics questions are a small percentage of the test because we're covering life science, physical science, and earth and space science. So the number of items that they may see for content still left to be
covered should be relatively minimal if they're looking at the their three year science progression from freshman through junior year. The current courses of biology, chemistry, physics, again, what are the specific standards that are covered in each course is up to each district to design and set up. There are recommendations with the standards and that the department has provided from the office of standards for potential groupings of the standards to assist to ensure that the students are exposed to all of the standards.
Okay. Alright. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Do we have other questions? I see vice president Johnson has his hand up. Up. Sir, would you like to please speak? Speak. Just a quick question. Excuse me. Could you turn off the volume of the computer at this time? Is that right? The computer? The computer. And then we can hear you without static. I have the volume on. That's good. That's good. Go ahead. Okay. So we've talked about this in the past. With the launch of the early literacy initiatives this year, we've been, asking for data
in regards to, you know, how that roll rollout has gone and how we anticipate that is going to have impact on the results that we, see in the spring. Yeah. We we do have a variety of different activities that we're gonna be talking about, including federal grants, statewide grants, high impact tutoring, the CLSD work that we have. And, and I just beg for the board's patience, we're going to talk about that in greater detail in a moment. Just if I could add, we one of those change so again, particularly on the
early literacy, we're looking at K through three. So most of those grades are prior to this testing starting at third grade. So there's gonna be a little bit of a a lag till we see those results show up in the SLA. The other thing I wanted to add is things we have some other data coming in, things like these screening tests. So that's we're still working that. This is the first year of compiling these. And as districts have administered those those tests to their students, they're on different, you know, grading standards, they need to be normed.
So we're working through that and we'll be able to present that. So in addition to what you're seeing here, we have more granular data that, pertains to younger grades, and we'll be able to share that, as soon as we're we're ready, with that norming process, etcetera. Again, it's the first year we're doing this. Let's we have a little bit of an upstart process, but we will share that as soon as possible. Thank you. Board member Bennett, please. You have the floor. You're muted. Is this better? Can I be heard now?
Yes, ma'am. Okay. So as we looked at the, groupings of students and we looked at the performance of African American, black students, Hispanic students, and we go back to CUSAC and we talk about the instruction and, program information. Is there any special assistance that the county superintendents offer to the districts where we continue to see persistent mode performance?
Albeit, there's a little improvement, one point something percent. But when we look at the disparity in the performance between the lower performing groups and the highest performing groups beyond what the district just do themselves, does the county superintendent's office get involved in helping them to comb through the data and look at the strategies to see if what's being done at the district level is addressing what needs to be done for these students? Yeah. The the direct answer is yes.
All districts that are not high performing do put together a district improvement plan, and they meet periodically with the executive county superintendent and his or her staff to, develop the type of interventions, to develop goals, and to, monitor progress. They also have formal reporting at six months as well as, as well as annually. Just to add to the sorry, to add what Jordan just mentioned, we also made
a really important change in the last year or so through this board in focusing our CUSAC on growth. And so to your point, Board Member Bennett, this that and Jordan, I think mentioned this, the fact that the gap exists is just something that we need to remain laser focused on because that has to be our constant, area of concentration. And this also relays to our work with our districts. So focusing in on growth and helping to elevate those students and get them up
to proficiency, is is a continuous effort. And, I think that change that we made recently in CUSAC in focusing on growth, and this relates to our our federal asset plan as well. So, continuing that transition into next year, I think is going to be a significant improvement in that space as well. Thank you. Thank you, board member Bennett, for that question, and we look forward to the improvement,
certainly. Any other questions at this time? Hearing none, we can continue, sir. Thank you. Thank you, madam president. Now let's turn to the 2025 results of the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment or NJGPA. As a note, these data being presented will only include the spring grade 11 students. This will allow us for direct comparison between graduating classes. The NJ GPA was intended to serve as the primary pathway for students to satisfy their graduation assessment requirement. The assessment is aligned to the English language arts grade 10 standards and to the
algebra one and geometry standards for the mathematics component. Students in the class of 2026 and beyond have access to three pathways to satisfying their graduation assessment requirement. As mentioned, the first and primary path is achieving a passing score of seven twenty five on each the English language arts and mathematics sections of the graduation proficiency assessment. Students who attempt the assessment but are unsuccessful at meeting the passing score open additional options. The second pathway is the menu of alternate assessments.
If a student meets the established cut score on one of the approved assessments, they will be considered to have met their graduation assessment requirement. The cut scores for the alternate assessments can be found on the Office of Assessments Graduation Requirements webpage. Alternatively, students unsuccessful on the NJ GPA can work with their district to satisfy or to submit a portfolio appeal. The portfolio appeal is a nonstandardized test method to satisfy the requirement. Students will work with their district to complete the portfolio appeal, and the district submits
the results to the department on behalf of the student. For the streamlined portfolio appeal, should the student achieve a score of a 35 on the armed services vocational aptitude battery or ASVAB, they would only be required to complete half of the needed tasks for the portfolio appeal. In 20 I'm sorry. Did you say that they only have to pass one of the tests for the pathway one? Just one. Is that new, or is that always been? Oh, that's a great question. The student will need to satisfy both a mathematics and an English language arts component.
Okay. The GPA contains both components if it's in one test, a singular grade 11 test. Okay. Thank you. A student is unsuccessful, then they can independently take the pathways for the subject they were unsuccessful for. Thank you very much for the clarification. In the 2025 administration of the NJGPA, eighty one point three percent of students demonstrated graduation readiness in the standards of English language arts, and fifty eight point five percent of students demonstrated proficiency in the mathematics standards.
This is a decrease of 1.2% in L. A and an increase of 2.9% in mathematics when compared with the 2024 administration. This slide shows the aggregate ELA results when broken down by racial or ethnic groups. All student groups demonstrated a slight decrease in graduation readiness in 2025 as compared to 2024. The next slide shows the aggregate results for economically disadvantaged students, multilingual learners, and students
with disabilities. All student groups demonstrated a decrease in the graduation readiness in 2025 when compared to 2024. Looking at the aggregate math results when broken down by racial or ethnic groups, all student groups demonstrated an increase in graduation readiness in 2025 compared to 2024. And looking at the aggregate math results of our economically disadvantaged students, multilingual learners and students with disabilities. All student groups demonstrated an increase in graduation readiness in 2025 as compared to 2024.
At this time, we'd like to pause for any questions on the NJGPA data. I have a question to anyone else just yet. Thank you. Good question. Looks like the ELA ELA and the math went down, in the slide nineteen and twenty, but graduation readiness went up. ELA ELA showed a a drop. Math showed an increase from twenty twenty four results. Okay.
Slide 19 is our student demographics for racial and ethnic groups. I'm sorry. Not 19. I'm sorry. It was, '22 and 2021. Sorry. 20 is our economically disadvantaged students, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities for ELA. And then slide 21 is mathematics. So Just to clarify. So if we go the overall is shown on slide 18, which shows both math and ELA together. The subsequent slides nineteen, twenty, and 21 are all or excuse me, nineteen and twenty
are all, just ELA. And then it shifts to math on twenty one and twenty two. Right. Breaking down the the student groups in in a couple of different ways just to show a little bit more granular, data. So it's it's a ELA first and then math following. So I I have a question if I could ask on slide 19. And, I just wonder if the disparity between 2024 and 2025 and the and the the decrease. If that's perhaps due to the number of students that actually took the test, do
we know that? I do not have that number off the top of my head, but we can get you that number for because I'm just looking perhaps for a reason, you know, with kids being back in school and everything and the tutoring why that could have occurred and perhaps the numbers that actually participated were were in variation. Just a question. And just for clarification, this is not looking at the same group of students. No. I know. One year after the next. Yeah. And but it was the same test. Was the same test. That's correct. Doctor Butcher, sir.
I wanna I wanna jump back. Go back to the Mary Bennett's question and discussion. Also, if you take a look at all the data, page nine, etcetera, looking at demographics, back, I don't know how many years ago, we used to have a system called DFG, District Factor Grouping. And and I understand that we're doing what we can to supplement instruction, look at ways that we can improve the instruction. But how much have we done to really try zero in the what on on
the why? You know, why we have such a big discrepancy? Data that was presented years ago dealt with district factor grouping. So if I looked at the top line of Asians and compared that to any other group, I could look at a DFG at the groups they were in and it helped answer the questions for me as to what this is all about. And if you go way back, you look at the books that Jonathan Kozel wrote, Camden, and his analysis of some of the factors contributing to this kind of thing.
Are we looking at this at all? Yes. The district factor grouping was a grouping of socioeconomic status. So it looked at income and education factors as well as some other factors that are predictors of, student achievement are actually highly correlated to indicators of student achievement. Glad you remember that. I do. Very much so. I do. And followed it for many, many years. We do have data on children that, qualify for free and reduced lunch, which is
a proxy for socioeconomic status as well. We do track that that information. We publicize all of that information for every school and every district throughout the state and what percentage of students qualify for free and reduced lunch. We continue to see that, that those data are highly correlated to, to student achievement. So we can cross those cross reference it with this data? We can. Yeah. And just to to kinda build on that, d f DFG is kind of couple decades old, I think, at this point.
Last time, I think it was updated. If I remember, it was '22 2,000 rather. And so that was looking at the community. And now we have, additional measures to look at community. And this kind of came came, in the ensuing, years. And so that's that we're able to look at that, those those data points per school district, and compare that to the students within. So the data we're looking at right now is looking at all of the students and the breakdown of the the student groups within, those, statewide, but we can break
it down within each school district and compare how that community looks likewise. So we're able to kind of cross tabulate all of that data now in a more granular way. DFG was trying to take a more limited, dataset to to to focus it in. But because of all the expansion and our availability of data that's happened in in more recent years, now we're able to get more granular. And so we can report this in a lot of different ways. And so, and I think to your point, and and I think, Jordan mentioned it
earlier, all this is available on our website. So you can do a lot of different cross tabulations with what we have available to us. So what we're presenting here is more of a high level state, overview, but we can get much more granular both at the district level as a corollary to the older DFG measures and on the student measures, which is kind of what we're talking about and at a high level here. And that pretty much answers my question because it says that it said I was
on. That's better than The green light goes on then doesn't cup, then it goes off as soon as I move. Yeah. It's not working. It's working now. I couldn't hear you before. I'm looking at the green light. Okay. Green light's not on. So, anyway, that answers my question because, you know, the the reasons and and the granular information that you're talking about is the reason district factor grouping kinda disappeared because it was so isolated to the a particular criteria. It's good to know this is the first conversation I recall us having at this
level that talked about those different measures that can be put together to give advice to local districts so that they can do on a district wide basis, community basis, whatever that happens to be, county. Take a closer look at the data that looks at the why. And and I, you know, I understand why that's not incorporated into the statewide data. So I appreciate that answer. And the subgroups, it's so important to see both locally and at a statewide level. So this is wonderful. Thank you. How about other yes, ma'am.
We're hearing from our So going to slide 18, looking at the general statistics of students who are not yet graduation ready based on the NJGPA exam, this clearly isn't the graduation rate in New Jersey for any of these years. So I'm presuming that students who are in that orange area are going to pathway two or three to achieve that. So what I was somewhat thinking from a student perspective, because I'm a current junior, I'm the age demographic that will be taking this exam in the spring, And what
I saw with students field testing this exam just a couple weeks ago is the fact that, of course, with pathway two, you have the PSAT, the SAT, and the ACT, which are standardized exams that many juniors already do take, whether that's through their schools or on their own accords for college or for another pathway. And what I was really noticing or somewhat, like, wondering is kind of student motivation when it comes to taking the NJ GPA, when juniors already have to take the PSAT, SAT, and or ACT on top of all of their classes and a lot
of other things, what I noticed with the field testing and what may be occurring is that when students know that they have pathway two available and pathway three available, and they have so many things to balance academically, let alone outside of their academics, whether or not students are motivated to really try or do well when they just wanna get it over with, to prioritize something else, and whether or not that may be impacting the results in general if, let's say, we were to compare this with PSAT, SAT, or ACT scores on the state level. Yeah. I I James, sorry. If I just before we go, and Jordan's gonna give much more detail.
But and so I I love the question. It's fantastic. And and you're gonna be taking this. I do expect you're gonna land in the blue region here. Let's hope so. My dad's in the room. So the, this this is also snapshot data. So these are eleventh graders that are taking this test in in these areas. They do have another opportunity to take this, so there's there's kind of more than one opportunity. They do need to take it once, and this is aligned to New Jersey state standards. And so this is required by state law that that we provide this.
The the other pathways, may be used. And I think part of your question, assumes that everybody's gonna take the SAT or ACT. And I I really wanna focus in on that for a couple of reasons. Number one, we have a lot of opportunities that do not require, taking those. There's we have enormous, expansion in our career pathways that do not require, college, for example, and industry value credentials, etcetera.
So taking that on one side. We've also seen a shift at the higher level where SAT and s a SAT and ACT, administration has dropped as well. It's no longer a requirement, for for applying. So with those shifts in mind, we do we're gonna continue to offer this. Again, it's aligned to our standards. It's a great question. Motivation is is always a core issue when you're looking at a statewide assessment like this. But we think that because it is a state, as a requirement to graduate, that
that provides enough incentive, for students to take it seriously. And and I would encourage you to come help share any ideas you have to help, us improve student motivation when they when they sit down this spring. Thank you. Would you like us to continue, madam president? Please, sir. All right. Thank you. We can move forward on the slide. Several key actions of the Department of Education here in New Jersey have been implemented since the pandemic, which will continue to directly influence teaching and learning and ultimately student performance in these content areas that we reviewed today.
As you may recall, in the 2023, revisions to the New Jersey student learning standards in English language arts and mathematics were adopted. The revised NJSLS ELA included significant revisions that integrated evidence based literacy instruction. The new content includes phonemic and phonological awareness, phonics decoding and encoding relationships and orthography. These are all necessary components that have been demonstrated through significant research as essential for students to learn to read and write.
Revisions to the mathematics standards included data literacy in early grades building a strong foundation for students that think critically and strategically to access quantitative relationship to assess quantitative relationships to craft solutions to complex problems and to leverage data in decision making and in responding to practical questions. Not only is this vital for academic growth but it also but it is also critical for personal decision making and functioning in a democratic society. New Jersey is one of the first states to integrate data literacy content into elementary
instruction with the intent to better prepare students to encounter statistics and probability standards later in middle and high school. Aligned technical assistance exploring the specific ELA and mathematics revisions have been offered regularly for educators with thousands of participants attending training since the adoption of the revised ELA and math standards. Also in the 2023 amendments to NJAC 6A colon nine professional standards were adopted. This set of amendments to chapter nine were designed to address a number of identified
gaps related to foundational literacy in New Jersey's teacher preparation programs. NJAC six colon nine a requires educator preparation providers to align teacher preparation programs to the NJSLS and incorporate literacy instruction in all content areas. NJAC six a colon nine b dash ten point two and eleven point two require p through three and k through six programs to incorporate foundational reading skills including but not limited to phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, reading comprehension, fluency and concept of print, strategies
for teaching reading comprehension, writing and speaking and listening. NJAC 6A colon 9B dash 11.2 emphasizes literacy and pedagogical content knowledge coursework for preschool through grade three teacher certification programs. In the 2024, Governor Phil Murphy signed public law 2024 chapter 52 which it reinforces the state's commitment to improving literacy outcomes for all students. This legislation builds on the recent revisions to the New Jersey student learning standards, dyslexia
legislation, and the New Jersey tiered systems of support, initiating a broader effort to refine instructional literacy practices based upon robust research in reading and learning. The legislation establishes a comprehensive plan to ensure that younger learners benefit from evidence based literacy instruction by requiring districts to first administer literacy screeners as the commissioner referred to twice a year for students in grades kindergarten through grade three and report the data to families in the department.
Also provide support for students consistent with the NJTSS and intervention and referral services and finally provide professional development to preschool through grade six staff on specific identified evidence based foundational literacy concepts. Moving on, in addition we would like to elevate a number of significant state level efforts that had been in place since the pandemic to address its impact on student learning. This includes an impressive $52,000,000 investment made by Governor Murphy in 2023 in support of
high impact tutoring programs. This initiative reached over 700, I'm sorry, 70,000 students across almost 300 districts statewide, assisting students in both ELA and mathematics, prioritizing districts based upon NJSLA proficiency levels. The governor has committed another $7,500,000 this fiscal year, which is in the process of being prepared in a competitive grant to be open to districts in the coming months. The Reading Acceleration Professionally Integrated Development or the RAPID series provided over $4,000,000 for elementary
literacy efforts ranging from live statewide professional development supports for educator preparation program improvements and foundation literacy, literacy coaching efforts and the creation of professional learning models. The comprehensive literacy literacy state development grant or the CLSD federal grant happened in 2024 and the department was awarded $50,000,000 from the US Department of Education designed to support literacy efforts nationally. New Jersey proposal included school district grant opportunities that included the cultivating ongoing achievement through
coaching literacy grant or the COACH grant which provides support for district level coaches, the instructional materials for professional advancement and coherent teaching or the impact grant which provides support for purchasing high quality instructional materials and third the Literacy Initiative for Families and Thriving Communities or the LIFT Grant which provides support for communities and family engagement for literacy for children from birth through age three. And finally the reading intervention for secondary engagement or the RISE grant which provides support
for secondary students not reading at grade level. Finally, the department supports of OpenSIED professional learning resources since 2021 has provided LEAs consistent support for implementing the science standards and improving student learning over time through professional learning around the use of standards aligned, open source, high quality instructional materials. The major the major take I'm sorry. We have a question? We do. Thank you. Doctor Johnson, sir. Sorry. Sir, you need to mute your speaker.
Your speaker. Mute your speaker and then ask. Yeah. That's you keep saying that, and it's not, I don't It's working now. Yeah. So I'm not sure what's going on, but I I, anyway, the question was, have you collected a census data from districts to see exactly which, universal screening tool they're using for reading, to kinda get an idea of what districts are using and how to, kinda direct and fine tune what professional development would be needed based on the
utilization of those tools. Thank you. Thank you for that question, doctor Johnson. The, the legislation that I was referring to, chapter 52, actually requires training for all teachers and administrators in k through six in the use of high quality screening materials as well as evidence based literacy instruction. Through other grants that I actually didn't mention today, we have, provided resources for hundreds of districts throughout the state to provide, tools, these high quality instructional, early literacy screeners,
for all students in grades k through three. As part of that grant, we are collecting, what types of screening tools they're using. And we'll be providing that feedback to districts about what are popular and which tools, seem to indicate improved performance over time. Just that I've always gotta add something. Just on on that note, doctor Johnson, the as we gather the screening, data over the course, there's it's administered twice a year. We will have that that breakdown.
But prior to even the school districts administering it, we convene a panel of of experts across the state to develop resources on high quality instructional material and to help guide them on which screeners, are have shown to be, most, impressive. I guess we try not to say you must choose this one, because that would violate some of some of our state laws on directing folks to individual products.
But what we did is worked with those that group of experts to help them find, high quality products that are available in the marketplace and and provide a comprehensive, information on that, including the instructional materials. All of that is now freely available to all of our districts on on our website. And I think that's a that's a really important first step before you even get into the administration and an assessment of data. But we will able to this is our first year of doing this. So we're gonna learn from this first year and see across districts what this looks like and be able to share that out.
So I do think that this is gonna be an ever evolving thing as we learn through, what what's happening across our state and where districts us the most success. And and as important it is to administer all of these screenings that that are going on throughout the state, this is close to 400,000, screenings that are occurring this school year alone, is what do you do once you have that data? And, we have a whole group of guidance documents as well as training on how
the data that is gathered on these screeners can be used to inform tier one instruction. So this dovetails with all of the work on our tier systems of support, and, and and that is a research based process that can help improve learning outcomes for, for students in early literacy. Thank you. Are there any other questions before we go into major takeaways? Hearing none, seeing no more questions, please. Thank you. The major takeaways from the NJSLA and NJ GPA performance results are that increases were observed in ELA, math and science across all grade levels with very few exceptions.
Additionally, the science results are now exceeding the pre pandemic levels observed in 2019. Regarding the NJGPA, an increase was observed in mathematics, However, a slight performance decrease was observed in ELA as compared to 2024. Now moving on, the next assessment that we'd like to share with you is the ACCESS for English language learners. Mister Bozani. Access stands for assessing comprehension and communication in English state to state for English language learners. New Jersey is a member of the WIDA consortium with 42 other states and territories
administering the access for ELLs assessment. The assessment is designed to and provided by WIDA through the University of Wisconsin. The ACCESS assessment serve as New Jersey's English language proficiency assessment. These yearly tests are required for all students identified as multilingual learners from kindergarten to grade 12. Access measures students' English proficiency using a scale that ranges from one to six in all domains. A score of one can be thought of as a beginner score, while a six
can be thought of as an advanced score. The assessments are administered to satisfied federal requirements under the every student succeeds act first and for states to measure student progress towards English language proficiency. Districts also use these results to determine multilingual learner student placement for the next school year. In New Jersey, a student must earn an overall composite score of 4.5 on the access for L's to first be considered for exiting from a language instruction educational program or l IEP.
The composite score is only one measure of readiness in addition to a state standardized process, which includes other measures. This slide presents the participation rates and percent of students by performance level for the access for ELLs assessment. The participation rates from the 2025 administration were very high with all grades demonstrating higher than a 99% participation. The data shows that more kindergartners demonstrated level one performance than any other grade.
This is expected as a large number of students enter the program in kindergarten. The data also shows increased performance at levels five and six for grades four and five. This is also expected as it is estimated that students would take between four and five years to test out of the program. With students starting in kindergarten and needing to achieve the composite score 4.5 to begin the exiting process, these represent the students who are in the process of
exiting status. The next assessment program we'll discuss is the dynamic learning maps or DLM. These alternate assessments in English language arts, mathematics, and science are designed for students with the most significant intellectual disabilities and are intended to be administered to no more than one percent of New Jersey student population per the Every Student Succeeds Act. The DLM is a computer adaptive test and has been for years. That means it is administered on a computer and as the student progresses through the
assessment it will adapt to their individual skill level. Students are tested on what are called essential elements which are grade specific expectations about what students with the most significant intellectual disabilities should know or be able to do. For example, ordering events such as first and next or identifying angles as larger or smaller. The variability of students eligible to take the DLM assessment is extremely wide. As Ms. Brozani indicated, about one percent of student population meets the definition of having a significant
intellectual disability. The criteria is as follows. Number one, the student has a disability that significantly impacts intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. Two, the student is primarily taught using the DLM essential elements. Three, the student requires extensive repeated individualized instruction and support that is not of a temporary or transient nature. Four, the student uses substantially adapted materials and individualized methods of assessing information. And finally, the student's significant intellectual disability will impact post school outcomes.
The test administered one to one. The classroom teacher is usually the test administrator but other professionals with whom the student is comfortable can administer the assessment. The level of assistance a student receives when taking the DLM is connected to the support the student needs to access the assessment. For example, a student who is able to navigate the test platform by using a touch screen mouse or adapt a switch can work fairly independently. Students with physical limitations who are unable to independently navigate the test platform, but can indicate responses through an eye gaze or some other means have answers questions have their
answers entered by a classroom teacher. This slide shows the participation rate which remains extraordinarily high during the statewide assessment administration. The following slide shows the percentage of students by grade for the DLM ELA assessment. The DLM performance levels range from one through four, emerging to advanced. As the assessment is an alternate assessment designed for those students with the most severe cognitive disabilities, having higher percentages of students in level one through three is foreseeable.
Following slide reflects the DLM mathematics results. And our final slide reflects the science results. All of the performance mirrors what has been observed, in ELA and mathematics. We see similar performance across all three content areas. And this concludes our presentation. And, of course, we're able to answer any of your questions that you may have. Yes. I find it very interesting that ELA performance was slightly decreased, and it's good that we're focusing so much for early learning towards that.
Yeah. It's great. When I went to the NASB conference, the National Association for School Board Educators, next year, their focus and the majority of them and with NASB will be towards improving mathematics. So I don't know if we're an outlier or if we're doing both. You know, we plan to do more math, certainly, but, it's interesting that we pick the right one right now to Yeah. To focus upon. We're yeah. We're we are focusing also in on mathematics, our high impact tutoring investments, focusing on
both ELA and mathematics. And we do see as I said, we had close to 70,000 students participate, and we hope to get even more students participating in that program as we implement the, the next phase of high impact tutor in Grant, New Jersey. Great. Yes, sir. So on slide thirty two and thirty three, the BLM and the ELA, results. And I guess it's similar to the ELL one as well, but, everybody is kind of a good portion of the people are living in level one.
You know, we what you said it was as expected. We should what what are we doing to get get everybody to level two and level three? They should be, obviously, at target or approaching it, you know, based on that. And then even if you go up to slide 28 where we boxed out at least on live thing, it's boxed. I don't know if yours has it. Level five and six, four grades, I'll box a little off. Maybe three through five. You said those people are testing out because they've done four years in the program.
Yeah. What about grades six through 12 who've been in the program, arguably twice as long? Why are those numbers on the decline? Maybe we can talk about both of your questions separately. So first on the DLM, question about where children are. These, these children have, a child study team that works with them. These are children that, because of the nature of their special needs, require a separate type of assessment, and it's very individualized.
We're talking about a very small percentage of students that that take that particular assessment, and they are monitored specifically through the child study team, their special educator, their parents are also part of that child study team process, and that they develop individualized educational plans to specifically meet those particular learning goals. So to to look at one, assessment of DLM, especially for this particular population, and try to draw broader conclusions about it, maybe a little bit apart from the mark,
the the focus is really on that individual child working with that child study team, their teachers, their parents, addressing their needs in real time. So, of course, we always wanna see our children grow from from one level to the next. This particular population, because of their particular needs, very, very, very widely. So we we try not to draw broad conclusions from the from the DLM data just for that reason. And I'm not drawing any conclusions. The data is broken down one through four.
So the data draws the conclusions. I'm just regurgitating what it says here. Understood. Thank you. And as far as the access, question that you have, typically, and I'll defer to John for more details, we see a large portion of our children, that enter into kindergarten as their first point of entry into into the school system. And typically around four years or so, the children are are testing out. This assessment, in some ways similar to the DLM, is very specific to the particular child and when they enter into the program and when they're exiting the program.
So what what this data doesn't show is when they entered when they're when they're exiting. It just shows a complete aggregate, chart of where they are at that point in time. Just to to Hold on that. You can see in, like, grade eleven and twelve, the entering, the numbers start to go up again in the later high school grades. And that's as, you know, student entering, New Jersey for the first time, for example, entering a school in New Jersey, may test at that level. Whereas a student that started in kindergarten might have already tested out in in the
elementary grades. So it it's that entry point and also the the total student population. And I think maybe separately we can share the total numbers as well for each grade level, which will help kind of kind of flesh that out a little bit. Sure. Great. I see Arcilio Ponte has his hand up. Sir. Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much, mad president. And thank you for the, presentation today. Questions on, student demographics and both on, your ELA ELA slide, nine and math slide
11. You demonstrate, the results, demographically of the assessment. When I look at black and Hispanic students compared to the, total total student population, we're still faring significantly lower in terms of of, test results, compared to the general population. I do see recognized progress in ELA of about 5% or so.
You see math is essentially has stood flat since 2022. So I guess two two questions. One is, are there any reasons why math has stood, essentially flat while we've made some progress in ELA? And then secondly, what tools or what resources do we currently have that you're hopeful about in moving us forward in in in re further reducing the achievement gap?
Thank you, mister Aponte. Just I wanna clarify. Yeah. Because I think, mister Aponte, slide 10 is a different student. So that's still ELA, but different student groups. So if you compare slide nine with Slide 11, you can see like, for example, the Black or African American group, they both are going up about 6.5%, 7% across those years. So we are seeing growth in math as well as ELA with those student groups.
So I just wanted to highlight that. It may be we're we're breaking these down, the student groups, a little bit differently. So looking slide to slide can get a little bit confusing. But they are both, trending up, which I think is a positive sign. And specifically what we're doing, this is not there's not a single thing that, is happening. There are multiple things happening simultaneously. We talked about, previously the change in focus on CUSEC on growth, particularly in I and P. And this helps in those districts where, and you can find a high correlation with
those districts struggling in INP that also are gonna have, lower performance found here. So focusing our efforts in those districts to help through those corrective action plans and coordination, both of their county offices and additional staff here. But a lot of those things that, Doctor. Schiff went through on particularly focused in on early literacy, and, and on math and and on science as well. Those are particular those are absolutely focused on those.
And as we roll out some of these, highly focused grant programs, whether it's through high impact tutoring or other things, we're also further focusing those those resources on those districts where they need it the most. So we're looking at the district and school performance data, and targeting those dollars directly to those students that need it the most. So again, always resources are gonna be limited. But if we take and use this data that we have here and correlate that with where we know that there's needs, that helps helps us, to focus those energies
where they're needed the most. What? Is he finished with that? Just one request. Board member Aponte, are you is there another part of your question? I appreciate the the feedback. It it just appears to me that, again, just going looking at looking at these tables, and and and I do recognize that has been some improvements, since 2022. But the the the gaps are still, frustrating, to say the least.
It's just to see that those gaps continue to persist. I I just you know, given where we've been and and looking ahead, I just don't, have a, I guess, clear clear view of how how do we how do we proceed in a way that allows us to manage those gaps and reduce them, over the next couple of years, and and maybe that's gonna require more discussions with all of you. You, commissioner, and the rest of the team, again, it's just, frustrating to see this
gap continuing to persist. I do I think that that frustration is shared not only with, with us, but with every educator that sees that. And that's that's that perennial problem that we that we look at. And I one thing that I didn't mention, and I don't think we that Doctor. Schiff mentioned in great detail, but is the creation of our new office that is focusing on this. And although the early the LEAR office, and although that office is primarily initially focused
on literacy, we are expanding that into math as well. And again, growing from within. A large focus of that is again looking within New Jersey, identifying those areas where we see growth and progress and building on those. So what works in one community, is likely to work elsewhere, and to create those, connections between our educators so that they can see that growth. This is this is the tough work, for all educators.
And and I think that that gap will consider continue to be our area of focus. I completely agree with that ongoing frustration, but that's where we are committed and changing how we devote our resources to address it specifically. Thank you. Yes, sir. Board member Shahada. For slide eighteen, twenty eight, thirty one and thirty two, would we be able to get the data of what this looked like in 2019, our last normal year, you
know, pre pandemic? The disaggregated data by, by race ethnicity is what you're referring to? No. So this one is for the DLM, the ELL, and then just the graduation rate on 18. I know that one's I'm more interested in seeing the ELA, but I know for slide 18, it has to be the MASP and ELA because it's, a composite score. We we can take that request back to the team. We we have other The the information. We will provide I think we can some of those tests change during that period
too, so they're not directly comparable. But it's a it's a good question. So we'll take it back to add additional years as much as we can to those, again. Sure. Understood. And we'll we'll we just have to match up when the same the light test was administered or where they might have changed. Board member, Barry, please. Yes. I I have a question relevant to the DLM. It's population students near and dear to my heart. And I'm I'm looking at these slides and we're the majority. I know it's a small group, but they're they're all in level one emerging, the
majority of students. And and very you are, you know, even approaching or at target. What are we doing with that population of students to raise them out of that emerging category? Yeah. That that's a that's a that's a broad question that really requires a very local, unique answer for an individual child. Because these children are not all the same children, they're very, very different with very unique needs, that the data that's provided by, by the DLM is one of many
indicators of performance that these children, and their child study team and their their teachers use to evaluate what to do next, how do we work with this particular child in order to improve performance. So, again, you're seeing a snapshot in time. You're not seeing that particular child and seeing that growth. That measure is done at the local level, at the school level, at the classroom level. And for these children in particular, a very, very individualized program is developed for them. Individualized program is developed for them. Any other questions, concerns, comments? So I wanna thank the department.
We had a two very in-depth conversations about each of these issues, and we had so many questions. And, it it was very heartening to see all the efforts that the DOE is making, and commissioner Dahmer has been at every single meeting and meeting with stakeholders and meeting with the people trying to, also hear their concerns, and I appreciate that so much, sir. But there is a lot of room for growth.
There is a lot of room for improvement. There is a lot of room for activities on on every level of education to keep making sure that our students get every opportunity, and I know our department's working hard on it, and certainly the board is interested to see these results and to see them in a timely manner so that anything any support wise we can give on our end to encourage professional development or whatever it may be. So, thank you for this very much. Thank you.
Thank you. And next, we have Well, I guess we need to yeah. You need to, Sorry. Yeah. We can move into the items for consideration. That concludes the commissioner's report, for this month. So the first item for consideration is a standing item. Item a is for appointments, and we do not have any appointments this month. So we can move to the second standing item that we have of certification to school districts.
And likewise, we do not have certifications, pending this month. So rolling right into, item c for consideration. Today, I'm presenting at adoption level the amendments and new rules to NJAC six a nine professional standards, six a nine a, New Jersey educator preparation programs, and six a nine b, state board of examiners and certification. The proposed amendments and new rules will align the chapter with the existing statutes.
And I'll turn it back to doctor Jordan Shipp and Lisa Haberle for more information. Thank you. I I promise this presentation will be brief. Yes, almost. Almost. Thank you once again. Our next item on today's agenda is the for adoption are the changes to the New Jersey Administrative Code chapter nine, nine eight, nine b professional standards, educator preparation programs, and the state board of examiners. This morning we'd like to address the following areas with you as we review the amendments to the chapter proposed for adoption.
We will begin by discussing the overarching goals of the proposed amendments and review the public comment received. There have been no responsive revision no responsive revisions to the chapter resulting from the public comments. We are pleased to take any questions you may have at the end of the presentation. And miss April. Back in April, you may recall we introduced a set of proposed amendments aimed at aligning chapter nine with recently enacted state laws. The proposed amendments codify into regulation several statutory changes aimed at eliminating roadblocks to certifications that enhance and improve the teacher pipeline, as well as ensuring teachers are appropriately certified.
The central goal of all proposals is to ensure regulations are aligned to recently enacted state laws. Specifically, the proposed amendments codify the elimination of the basic skills test, create a pathway for paraprofessionals to earn a certificate of eligibility with advanced standing or CEAS by capitalizing upon current work within the classroom, establish a computer science endorsement for grades nine through 12, and eliminate the performance assessment or edTPA, allowing educator preparation programs or EPPs to
establish their own assessment. The proposals also require that EPPs ensure teacher candidates complete credits in special education, culturally responsive teaching, and coursework on autism spectrum spectrum disorder. And lastly, the proposal allows preparation programs to accept any number of credit hours from accredited county colleges toward meeting requirements for certification. We received several comments expressing overall support for the proposed amendments. Commenters indicated that the proposals promote inclusive and effective teaching practices, reduce unnecessary barriers, recognizes
and supports our paraprofessionals, aims to increase access and affordability to the teaching profession, all while maintaining standards and attempting to strengthen the educator pipeline. None of these comments required any revisions to the proposal. We received some additional comments that requested more amendments are necessary to address the teacher crisis and staffing shortages felt by our school districts in high need areas. These comments were unrelated to the recently signed legislation and therefore did not require revisions. And that concludes our presentation. We're available for any of your questions.
How about any questions or comments or concerns at this time? I just have a comment. Yes, ma'am. Please. Thank you. I'm very excited, at how this will impact the pipeline of teachers. So thank you very much. Yeah. I wasn't saying thank you because it was brief. How about anybody? Anybody else at this time? Hearing none, I would like to ask for a motion to accept. Thank you very much. Board member Pena has given a motion. May I please have a second? Second. Thank you very much, board member Berry. Any other discussion before we vote?
Alright. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed at this time? Are there any abstentions at this time? Hearing none, the motion carries unanimously, I believe. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And moving to item d. Today, I'm presenting, additional amendments to chapter nine b, which is something we alluded to earlier in the conversation. Today's presentation is based on a recently approved petition for rulemaking submitted by James Garcia, who's the regional director of Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps or JROTC.
The petition sought to modernize and align the requirements for military science certification with current federal requirements. To receive military science endorsement under existing regulations, candidates must demonstrate twenty years of military experience and hold a valid certification authorizing employment as a military science instructor from the branch of service in which the candidate served. The twenty year provision was required for alignment to a federal limitation that junior ROTC instructors must be retired.
Federal laws have recently, been expanded so that junior ROTC instructor eligibility can include non retired former service members that meet individual branch requirements. The inconsistency has created unnecessary barriers for qualified professionals seeking to serve in our schools. The proposed amendments being presented today are not only consistent with our commitment to regulatory clarity and fairness, but they're also essential to expanding the pool of qualified military science candidates at a time when demand is high and recruitment is challenging.
And I'll turn it back to my colleagues for more discussion. Thank you again, commissioner. This presentation will summarize the proposed amendments to the New Jersey Administrative Code NJAC six a colon nine b dash 11 dot h which governs the military science endorsement for educators. On 09/22/2025, a rulemaking petition was submitted seeking amendments to NJAC six a nine b dash 11.8. The petition specifically requested the removal of the requirement that candidates for a military science endorsement document twenty years of military experience.
In October 2025, the recommendation was made to grant the petition and initiate rulemaking. Currently, New Jersey requires a military science endorsement for individuals teaching the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, or ROTC or Junior ROTC programs in local education agencies. The existing requirements include demonstrating twenty years of military service and holding a valid certification or certification authorizing employment as a military science instructor from the candidate's branch of service. The twenty year requirement originated from federal limitations that JROTC instructors must be retired.
However, recent changes in 2023 and 2024 federal laws expanded eligibility to include non retired former service members who meet individual branch requirements. The recommendation supports removing the twenty year service requirement and making additional amendments to ensure clarity and alignment with federal certification standards. This change reflects evolving federal policy and aims to broaden access to qualified instructors while maintaining rigorous standards for JROTC programs statewide. The rationale for this amendment is clear. Federal law has evolved.
The FY '23 and FY '24 National Defense Authorization Acts now allow non retired service members to serve as junior ROTC instructors providing provided that they meet their branch's certification standards. Maintaining a strict state requirement specifically the twenty year service threshold, creates an unnecessary barrier and has led to endorsement denials since 2022. Aligning with federal standards ensures consistency and fairness and can increase the pool of talented educators who can teach these critical programs for the students of New Jersey.
The pros proposed revision removes the twenty year service requirement and instead requires candidates to hold a current and valid certification or letter of eligibility from their military branch authorizing them to serve as a JROTC instructor. This change reflects federal alignment, reduces barriers, and maintains rigorous standards through military issued credentials. We believe these amendments will strengthen our educator pipeline, support students' access to high quality, junior ROTC programs, and reflect our commitment to aligning state policy with federal guidance.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We welcome your questions. So could it vary between military branches how long and experience the people have had? The and just and I I think this gets at the question, and I think it's something that I wanted to highlight. The current rules prior to this amendment set a strict twenty year Right. Experience requirement. The change will now align to the federal requirements by branch. So those change over time, then our regs will still remain in alignment.
So we won't have this disconnect in the future if if that happens. I believe right now all the federal branches are at eight years instead of twenty years of experience. But instead of writing eight into this, we're just simply aligning to those, federal rules so if those change Excellent. Will stay consistent. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions at this time? Seeing none. Thank you for the presentation. Appreciate it. Are we voting on this? No. No. And Jordan and Lisa don't go get to go anywhere, as we move into item
e, resolution of, to adopt the New Jersey State, learning standards. So, this morning, we'll be presenting our second set of revisions to the twenty twenty, New Jersey's, student learning standards in the content areas of computer science, innovation and society, which was formerly known as computer science and design thinking, visual and performing arts, and world languages. Within these revisions, our commitment remains to provide every student in New Jersey with a
high quality future ready education that equips them for success in a rapidly evolving world. The revised standards presented today reflect extensive collaboration among expert educators, industry leaders, higher education faculty, and stakeholders all across the state. These updates prioritize clarity and relevance ensuring that all students develop the knowledge and skills essential for post secondary achievement and lifelong learning. In this presentation, we will highlight the major changes proposed in the three content areas,
including the explicit integration of artificial intelligence, strengthening the relationship between world languages and cultures, and fortifying a strong foundation for students to reach advanced proficiency in the arts. And as a reminder, this presentation is nested within a larger series of ongoing conversations about revisions to the standards that were last adopted five years ago in 2020. Your feedback, both from the board and from the public, is critical in shaping these
standards. And as we look forward with this through this continued dialogue, we'll move with, move forward to public testimony and eventual adoption in the months ahead. So with that, I'll turn it over to doctor Jordan Shipp and Lisa Haverhill to discuss in more detail. Thank you, commissioner. We are excited today to walk you through the proposed updates to the New Jersey student learning standards in three content areas. They include the computer science innovation and society previously known as computer science and design thinking, World Language and Visual and Performing Arts.
You recall we discussed science and career readiness, life literacy and key skills or clicks during last month's meeting. This presentation will focus on the next three content areas among the seven adopted in 2020. On November 19, we issued a call for participation in the reviews of comprehensive health and physical education and social studies, the remaining two content areas from the 2020 series. The application deadline for participation is December 15, and we anticipate launching the review of those standard areas in January after the committees are selected.
This morning, we would like to begin with a look at the proposed updates to the computer science innovation and society standards, discussing the professionals who contributed to the revisions and what specific changes are being proposed. Then we'll do the same for world languages, followed up by visual and performing arts. Let's begin by focusing on the proposed updates for computer science and design thinking. You will note the change in title featured on the slide, a shift we will speak to in a moment. The newly named content area Computer Science Innovation and Society or CSIS is reflective of the dramatic evolution this discipline has undergone since 2020.
The discipline extends far beyond the content of programming and engineering concepts and now features prominently in our everyday lives now more than ever. This subtle revision and title reflects how technology continues to evolve and impact our lives and the proposed revisions to the performance expectations are designed to help students build the skills they will need to thrive in an ever evolving tech driven world. The revision process was guided by a diverse committee dedicated to creating standards that are both forward thinking and inclusive of New Jersey's educational landscape. We brought together experts with advanced degrees, many holding PhDs and ADDs as well as
seasoned professionals with years of classroom and industry experience. Our committee represents suburban, urban and rural districts from across New Jersey ensuring that these standards meet the needs of all of our students. Collaboration between the expert and writing committees helped us balance the academic rigor with practical classroom realities. Rapid advances in technology such as artificial intelligence, automation, and data driven systems are reshaping how we live, work, and learn. To prepare students for this rapidly evolving digital landscape, New Jersey has consolidated its previous
standards, 8.1, computer science, 8.2, design thinking, and key elements of 9.4, career readiness, life literacies, and key skills into a single unified framework, computer science innovation and society or CSIS. This evolution redefines the scope and identity of the former computer science and design thinking standards, clarifying the purpose of standard eight and enabling systematic and seamless implementation across grade levels and disciplines. The CSIS framework is organized into three interrelated domains: Computer Science, Engineering Design and Technology,
and Digital Literacy. Together, these domains reflect the interconnected and interdisciplinary Nature of today's technological world, equipping students not just to use technology, but to shape and critically engage with it as active participants in a changing society. Mhmm. Perhaps the most essential revision to to prepare students for a rapidly evolving future is the integration of artificial intelligence literacy across all domains. The proposed standards ensure that students not only understand how AI models function and improve,
but also critically evaluate AI tools and analyze their societal and ethical impacts. By emphasizing the ethical and inform ethical, informed, and purposeful use of AI, the framework equips students to engage responsibly and creatively with with these emerging technologies. In short, 8.1 computer science addresses the what of AI, its structure, logic, and function. 8.2 engineering design and technology addresses the how applying AI tools to design, test, and innovate.
And eight dot three, digital literacy addresses the why, understanding the implications, ethics, and human dimensions of AI in society. As doctor Schiff shared moments ago, the revised computer science innovation and society standards are intentionally designed to be both flexible and future ready. They include language that can adapt as new technologies emerge while emphasizing enduring capacities, critical thinking, ethical reflection, collaborative design, and adaptability. The newly proposed learning targets ensure students engage with tools and concepts that mirror real
world applications preparing them to thrive in a dynamic digital landscape. For example, students are guided to use digital tools to research, design, test, and refine solutions to real world problems, learning to seek feedback, and improve through iteration. Our goal is to establish aspirational yet achievable expectations that cultivate foundational knowledge and transferable skills ensuring students remain prepared to learn, lead, and innovate as technology continues to evolve. Building on the 2020 restructuring of standard 8.1, educational technology, which integrated its components into standard 9.4,
career readiness, life literacy, and key skills, the 2025 proposal realigns educational technology with computer science and engineering design under the unified Computer Science Innovation and Society CSIS framework. This realignment recognizes digital literacy as a core competency, a foundational skill that supports success across computing, engineering and the broader landscape of everyday technological interaction. The updated digital literacy domain emphasizes the effective use of digital tools, ethical and responsible
digital citizenship, and a deep understanding of the relationship between technology and society, ensuring that all students are prepared to engage thoughtfully and responsibly in an ever evolving digital world. We have also reorganized the standard eight domains and updated the terminology to reflect current and emerging technological priorities. For example, the networks and Internet strand in 8.1, computer science, is now networks and cybersecurity, acknowledging the growing importance of data security and digital infrastructure in modern computing.
Likewise, impacts of computing has been moved from 8.1 and re envisioned as technology and society now housed within 8.3 digital literacy highlighting the social, ethical, and civic dimensions of technology use. These updates streamline and modernize the performance expectations within each domain, ensuring that the standards remain relevant, coherent, and accessible for educators and students throughout this next five year cycle. The proposal also aligns the K through five engineering design and technology standards with the
K through five science standards, creating a coherent and developmentally appropriate progression across both disciplines. The existing science standards already integrate engineering principles in ways that emphasize hands on inquiry based learning. A hallmark of the engineering process. By realigning the standards New Jersey will promote stronger STEM integration and greater interdisciplinary coherence especially in the elementary grades where instructional time is limited and subjects must reinforce one another. This alignment ensures the unified approach to science, engineering and technology learning statewide.
As you can see in this chart the progression builds systematically from earlier exploration to advanced design. K through two students begin by exploring real world situations, asking questions, making observations, and defining problems that could be addressed by creating or improving a simple object or tool. Grades three through five, they identify a need or want and develop a simple design problem with clear success criteria, what the solution should do, and a realistic constraints such as materials, time, and cost.
In middle school, students apply these skills to authentic community challenges developing detailed models or prototypes and documenting each step in their progress. In high school, learners refine and improve existing designs to meet both quantitative and qualitative goals while considering resources, constraints, and the need of people impacted by the solution. This structure ensures that from kindergarten through graduation, students experience a continuous developmentally appropriate pathway that builds curiosity, creativity, and problem solving capacity, the foundations of STEM fluency and innovation.
New Jersey's computer science innovation and society standards are aligned with national frameworks, including the Computer Science Teachers Association computer science standards, the International Technology Engineering Educators Association standards for technological and engineering literacy, and the International Society for Technology and Education standards for students. This alignment ensures consistency with national expectations while reflecting New Jersey's own vision for innovation and interdisciplinary learning. The standards are also scaffold scaffolded developmentally, guiding students from early exploration into advanced analysis.
In kindergarten through second grade, for example, students organize materials by observable properties recognizing how different materials serve different purposes. In grades three through five, they use evidence to determine which materials best fit specific applications, developing reasoning and justification skills. By grades six through eight, students measure and compare material properties to inform design decisions, emphasizing applied problem solving. And in grades nine through 12, students analyze how civilization is shaped by tools, materials, and processes, connecting technological development to its societal impacts.
This combination of national alignment and developmental progression ensures that New Jersey students build the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind needed for lifelong learning and technological adaptability. Finally, the computer science innovation and society standards are designed with both developmental appropriateness and equitable access in mind. We know that in the early grades children's readiness to use technology can vary widely. That's why the K-two standards intentionally allow each concept to be taught in multiple ways through hands on, unplugged activities or with digital tools.
For example, kindergarten teachers might help students understand what an algorithm is by having them create step by step directions to help a partner move across the classroom. Testing and revising their instruction when the quote unquote program doesn't work as expected. Later those same ideas can be practiced on a computer using block based programs such as Scratch Junior, where students build and test digital sequences. This flexibility is built directly into the standards as a scaffold for learning. It ensures that all students, no matter their access to devices, can begin developing the
logical thinking, problem solving, and creativity that form the foundation for computer science and and engineering in later grades. At this time, we'd like to pause and answer any questions that you may have about the future. He'll start. Today, Can I elaborate a little bit on unplugged learning? I mean, this is the kind of thing we were talking about in the committee. You know, looking at the, you know, technology's impact on our ability to think. You know, I've mentioned several articles that are out there.
You can send one to you. Sounds like we're right on the right path here. Thank you. I wonder if I'll elaborate. You know, there's a lot of work that went into these standards that looked not only at the practical, but the ethical implications of AI. And as you read through the development progressions, you'll see that theme is woven through a lot of these performance expectations. And that's something that, that districts are also considering and thinking about very deeply. We believe that these standards can help provide some direction in having those conversations at
the classroom level. I mean, I, you know, I referenced in committee, you know, all the activity centered around cell phone use, etcetera, etcetera. And, you know, what are we doing to the ability of children to learn as opposed to go to their technology. And I really appreciate you diving into this so deeply, and I'm sure we're going to hear more about it. And in some of this, especially in the K through two level, you'll see the power off activities where they're actually not using technology, but building problem solving, logical development.
I picked up on that big time. No. I have a question for no one else. Oh, go ahead, please. I see you. Please. Thank you. I've been thinking a lot about the dip in ELA since we went over that, and I'm wondering whether there's there's probably not a way to capture it anymore. But there's a lag in the use of AI, the way instructors are helping students to understand the heuristic potential, pushing that prompt just a little bit more to say why is the revised or suggested language better than my original.
I don't think that capacity was in classrooms or was in professional development in the first year. And I wonder if there's just a lagging effect, in the ELA of people just relying on the tool and not understanding the why. And I particularly appreciate the framework where you're talking about the what, the how, and the why. I think that's hopefully what we'll see in the future in the increased ability of instructors to use the tool as a heuristic rather than just an answer provider.
One part of the conversation that we had at the committee level was talking about, not only the expert committee and the writing committee, but we also have an implementation committee that is responsible for helping to build the capacity of teachers through guidance, professional development, and other activities because many of these performance expectations will be integrated into other content areas. If I could just ask, in regards to student safety and identity stolen, all the things that come with, enhanced usage of computer access and what we do.
What are we addressing that at all with the standards here? The answer is yes. Could you elaborate on how? Sure. It's in in multiple areas. Domain 8.3 is digital citizenship and digital digital literacy. And we really do talk about, keeping students safe online, their awareness of how their work their online activity appears to everyone, and that it's visible and has a permanent footprint. We also, during, our information literacy standards that we talked about last month in in,
standard 9.3, we also have information literacy around keeping students safe online. So students are aware that their, search history and what they're looking for, they have to critically analyze the spaces that they're that they're searching for information in and the validity of the sources. So there are pieces there. And we we also talked about cybersecurity, which appears in in 8.1 as well. So Good. The concepts of cybersecurity, outside of the students' own use, but just in general, appear in 8.1 as well. And does that sort of focus at all in, students being able to discern things
that are credible references versus not? Yes. That lives primarily in information literacy in in, nine point, three. Okay. And we'd be happy to pull anything you'd like to see. Okay. Thank you. How about any other questions? Yes, ma'am. Please. So on slide six, I noticed that the incorporation of artificial intelligence literacy was mainly for grades nine through 12. Now from my experience, I know some peers were introduced to AI even earlier. So, like, let's say seventh or eighth grade.
I was wondering, it might not be on the slides, but if there's some sort of incorporation, maybe a little bit earlier to really help transition that. Thank you for the question. In computer science 8.1 data and artificial intelligence concepts, actually starting as young as K through two, we have a performance expectation to, investigate simple examples showing what artificial intelligence is and how people interact with it. So it's a developmentally appropriate way of beginning to introduce concepts like artificial intelligence to
even our very young learners. So we are addressing, specifically some more complex tasks. That same particular, developmental progression in middle school looks like this. Describe the purpose, function, and limitations of an AI model. So, depending upon where that child is and what grade they're in, these particular performance expectations are targeted to what's developmentally appropriate for them. Them. Okay. Thank you. Yep. Please continue. We would like to transition to the proposed revisions for the world language standards.
We will explore what features are new, what content has been refined, and how these changes reflect current research and classroom realities. To set the stage, we will look at how world language standards have evolved over time. Since 2004, proficiency has been the organizing principle. Within each proficiency benchmark, performance expectations have been organized into the modes of communication. Interpretive, what we listen to, read or view. Interpersonal, a conversation between people. And presentational, communication to an audience. These organizational features have been mandated in the proposed twenty twenty five NJSLS World Languages.
The standards have consistently emphasized the connection between language and culture through the way that has been represented, has changed. In the proposed twenty twenty five world language standards, the the performance expectation in all modes of communication call for students to use the target language for two purposes. The first, intercultural competence, which is the skill, knowledge, and attitudes one needs to communicate effectively and appropriate appropriately in intercultural situations and literacy.
As we begin the re review of world languages standards, we were fortunate to bring together a group of highly qualified educators to guide this work. Both the expert and writing committees included members with advanced degrees and extensive classroom experience. These individuals also hold credentials demonstrating advanced proficiencies in one or more languages other than English. They represented all regions of the state, a mix of suburban and urban districts, and seven different languages taught in New Jersey. Their diverse perspectives helped ensure that standards are both rigorous and relevant.
One of the key changes in the 2025 proposal is the integration of related topics across the modes of communication. On this slide on the left is an image of the 2020, World Language Standards and on the right is an image of the proposed 2025 standards. In 2020 on the left the intercultural statements were separate from the performance expectation. The expert committee recommended combining them to reflect how language and culture interact in real world situations. This integration fosters a deeper cultural understanding and provides more authentic learning experiences.
Another proposed update is the reorganization of performance expectations into strands. On this slide, across the top of the table are the modes of communication, interpretive, listen, read, view, interpersonal, conversations with people, and presentational, communications to an audience. On the left are the two purposes for using the target language, intercultural competence and literacy as doctor Shipp described. You will notice each mode of communication contributes to both intercultural competence and literacy. You will note, where appropriate, strands cut across all modes or are tailored specifically to
show the unique skills within a specific mode. The proposed change in design is intended to help streamline instructional planning, promote deeper cultural understanding, and clar clarify how multiple factors interact in a real world situation. For example, determining when and how to apologize requires cultural knowledge. Cultural perspectives on on a sequence of events may shape whether an apology is considered necessary. When an apology is warranted, effective communication in any culture involves assessing the situation, who's involved, power dynamics, and the severity of the act, and then using language and behavior
that are culturally appropriate. We also refine the language used in the standards to make them more applicable for all languages. This includes adding terms like oral, written, or signed and using broader verbs like express or provide. These changes help to ensure that the standards are accessible and adaptable regardless of the language being taught. Finally, the third recommendation was to apply performance expectations to any context and this authentically reflects the nature of learning another language. Research tells us that a rich context is essential in learning another language, but that
not that certain topics must be taught before others. Developing students' abilities to show what they can do with the language in multiple contexts helped grow proficiency. The expert committee recommended the writers use language that allows performance expectations to remain adaptable across contexts. This includes removing terms like basic or references to a specific theme such as home or school so that performance expectations reflect the broad real world applications of language learning. To illustrate, in the 2025 NJSLS World Language standards at the novice low proficiency, so
this is in grades k through two, in a unit about animals in our community, students might draw pictures of the animals they see in their own neighborhood. Then when asked, students would share their individual preferences using memorized words and practice phrases. This might sound like I love and point to their picture of a dog or answer with dog. This reinforces a key element of language learning at the novice low proficiency level, where we start with what is most relevant or important to students' lives. This subtle act of personalization connects a student with the content in a deeper way
than being handed a vocabulary list or flashcards. In a common prescribed notion of what basic preferences students should be able to express, students may have traditionally been asked to use memorized words and practice phrases to answer questions that may or may not have been relevant to them. An example might be animals they may or may not have encountered before. This might look and sound like a teacher holding up a picture of a deer and asking, do you like deer? And a student responding with, I like or no, regardless of whether or not this reflects their lived activity. Focusing one of what is relevant to students' lives and providing support so they can
express their individual preferences increases engagement and the acquisition of language. This lays a stronger foundation which can be expanded upon in later grades. This reflects the reality of language learning. It's not about mastering isolated topics, but but using language meaningfully and authentically in diverse situations. Let's pause for a moment to answer any questions you may have about the proposed language or world language standards. Just for curiosity, you mentioned there were seven languages. I'd love to hear the seven languages that are being taught. Come on. Now you're gonna test me.
Spanish you, but You can probably help me. American sign language? Spanish, French, Italian, German, Mandarin. Now you're gonna have to help me. Latin. Latin. Yes. We need one more. Yeah. Oh, I think we got them. I think we got them. Thank you. Just curious. Thank you. Thank you. There are no more questions, we'll continue. I don't know. Are there any more? Nope. Thank you. Let's go on. Our next standard area is the visual and performing arts. Like with other content areas, our standard revision process begins with bringing together an expert
committees. These teams carefully review the current standards and recommend updates for the writing committees. The department assembled two highly qualified committees to guide the revision of the visual and performing arts standards. The expert committee brought deep academic and practical experience to the table. Over 20% held doctoral degrees and members averaged nineteen years of experience in education spanning classroom teaching and arts administration. Their backgrounds covered all five arts disciplines and they represented a diverse mix of suburban, urban, and rural districts from across New Jersey's northern, central, and Southern districts.
Our expert committee identified five key areas for refinement across all arts disciplines. First, they recommended streamlining the performance expectations to focus clearly on foundational content and improve vertical alignment, the coordination of skills and content across different grade levels to ensure that learning builds progressively from one year to the next. They also work to realign expectations with the anchor standards, which describe the general knowledge and skill that teachers expect students demonstrate throughout their education in the arts to ensure a logical learning progression. Enhancing learning progressions was another priority.
Make sure students build skills in a way that supports deeper understanding over time. In music, we revised the coding system to reflect proficiency levels, especially in ensembles and harmonizing instruments. And finally, we clarified the language of the expectations to make them easier for educators to implement in the classroom. Here's a great example of how consolidation improves clarity. In the 2020 standards for general music by grade five, the anchor standard four and anchor standard five, there were two separate expectations. One focused on reading and performing music, the other on analyzing rhythmic and melodic patterns.
The writing committee saw that these two expectations were aimed for the same learning outcome, so they combined them into a singular, clearer expectation that still captured the essential skills. This kind of revision help educators focus on what matters most and supports stronger alignment across grade levels. The committees reviewed performance expectations to ensure optimal alignment with the anchor standard. They identified the appropriate alignment and revised languages necessary to support a clear progression of sequential learning. This example is for media arts by the end of grade 12. The performance expectation is focused on critiquing work to determine how well the purpose and
expressive intent are evident in the product. Expressive intent are evident in the product. Note the highlighted language of the 2020 performance expectation. Given its focus on critique, the experts recommended moving it from anchor standard one, generating and conceptualizing ideas, to anchor standard number nine applying criteria to evaluate products. The language was also revised to enhance clarity of the performance expectation. The committee also looked closely at how students progress through the standards. In this example from visual arts by grade two the original expectation asked students to
categorize and evaluate artwork tasks that may be a bit abstract for younger learners. The revised version clarifies the task and introduces basic art vocabulary helping students build a strong foundation for future learning. It's all about meeting students where they are developmentally and setting them up for success as they grow. These revisions ensure students engage with key concepts at a stage where they can meaningfully understand and apply them. Another area of focus was clarifying the language of the standards. Take this example from dance at the advanced high school level.
The revised version integrates the original ideas into a single concise and coherent sentence. It continues to emphasize the importance of personal voice and the intentional use of choreographic tools while improving clarity and the ease of implementation. This type of refinement across the five arts disciplines supports educators by clearly articulating the essential skills and knowledge students are expected to demonstrate. Looking ahead, we're excited to collaborate with educators, art organizations, and industry professionals to develop practical tools that support the rollout of these revised standards.
These resources will help unpack the standards, guide curriculum development, support assessment design and expand arts programming across schools. We're also creating materials to help students explore career pathways and prepare for post secondary opportunities. Our goal is simple to ensure every educator has the support they need to bring these standards to life in their classroom and inspire meaningful learning for all students. We are happy to answer any questions that you may have. That are visual and performing arts standards provisions. We just have a couple more slides for you and we'll be wrapping up.
This table outlines the timeline for review, revision, and the adoption of the twenty twenty five New Jersey student learning standards. It highlights key phases from expert recommendations through the public comment and final adoption ensuring transparency and stakeholder engagement throughout the process. As we conclude today's presentation, we wanted to underscore that these proposed updates to the Computer Science Innovation and Society, World Language, and Visual and Performing Arts are about more than just revised standards. They affirm our deep appreciation for the arts as a vital part of human expression
and creativity, for the connections created through the study of world languages, and for technology as a powerful driver of innovation and opportunity. These changes celebrate the expertise of educators, the insights of stakeholders, and the evolving needs of our learners. By grounding this work in research developmental best practices and authentic real world application, we are shaping standards that advance culturally responsive instruction and intercultural competence, nurturing artistic talent, strengthening techno technological fluency, and ensuring that every student's experience learning that is inspired, inclusive, and
future focused. We thank you for your continued engagement as we move through this process together. Thank you. Thank you very much. Any question or comment? Comment. Great job. Keep up the good work. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Yeah. Thank you. It was it was delivered so well, very clearly, and, we look forward to hearing the other standards then. This was wonderful. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Now we could continue. And that concludes our items for consideration. Thank you very much.
Is there any new business from the board members to discuss? Hearing none, I would like to please have a motion to adjourn. I do. Thank you very much. May I please have a second? Second. Thank you very much. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Thank you.