The state has released district-by-district snapshots of student test scores, graduation rates, absenteeism and enrollment of graduates in two-year or four-year colleges.
For the first time, student enrollment in visual and performing arts classes and advanced AP and IB courses are included in the annual School Performance Reports, released by the state Department of Education.
For the second year, state officials released the detailed analyses of individual school performance and peer group ratings rather than raw achievement numbers.
The data is intended to help educators by charting key factors for student success in college and career.
“Data plays an important part in that," Education Commissioner Chris Cerf said in advance of the release. "We are providing information to enable managers, teachers, principals and superintendents to figure out what’s working."
New Jersey is the first state in the nation to include arts participation in its annual report, said Robert Morrison of the New Jersey Arts Education Partnership. The data shows 47 percent of high school students are enrolled in music, dance, drama or a visual arts class.
“The vast majority of students entering our schools today will be employed by companies that do not exist today in industries that have yet to be invented,” he said. “To be successful they will need a wide range of educational experiences.”
Assistant Commissioner Bari Erlichson said enrollment in visual and performing arts is “highly correlated with lots of positive student outcomes, including higher graduation rate and higher post-secondary enrollment. Our students are participating in the visual and performing arts in a significant way.”
The new data also shows almost 14,000 students enrolled in AP U.S. History, making it the most popular AP course in the state. The two English AP courses were the next most popular.
About 75 percent of 116,000 students enrolled in AP and International Baccalaureate courses took the corresponding tests.
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NJ School Performance Reports for every school released today | NJ.com