Jersey Jazzman

• NJ's Student Growth Measures (SGPs): Still Biased, Still Used Inappropriately June 1, 2019
  What follows is yet another year's worth of data analysis on New Jersey's student "growth" measure: Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs).And yet another year of my growing frustration and annoyance with the policymakers and pundits who insist on using these measures inappropriately, despite all the evidence.Because it's not like we haven't looked at this evidence before. […]
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• NJ Public Workers' Health Benefits Are NOT Overly Generous: Some More Evidence May 26, 2019
  Warning: This one's going to get wonky...The anti-public worker political wing in New Jersey -- which includes nearly all the state's Republicans and the machine Democrats -- spends a good part of its time trying to convince the state's citizens that health care benefits for teachers, cops, and other public workers are way too generous.You'll hear […]
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• Stuff Journalists Should Know About Charter Schools May 19, 2019
  I can't say I'm surprised, but it looks like Bernie Sanders' latest policy speech on education – where, among other things, he calls for a ban on for-profit charter schools and other charter school reforms -- has generated a lot of fair to poor journalism that purports to explain what charters are and how they […]
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• How NOT To Evaluate Education Policy: A Newark Example May 4, 2019
  One thing I've learned from years of writing on education policy: the more convoluted the talking point, the more likely it's twisting the facts.For example [all emphases below are mine]:Today, African-American students in Newark are four times more likely to go to a quality school than they were in 2006. That's from a piece by Kyle Rosenkrans, […]
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• Jersey Jazzman: Year 9 March 30, 2019
  I keep of list of stuff I'm supposed to blog about, and right now that list is long. I've yet to give my thoughts on Bruce Baker's excellent report on New Jersey school funding, which you really need to read. There's also the tax incentive nonsense happening here in Jersey, which is a cautionary tale for […]
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• Only You Can Prevent Bad Tax Policy Discussions March 14, 2019
  When I started this blog up again earlier this year, I told myself I wasn't going to waste a lot of time debunking nonsense in the local media. Life is short and there's a lot to write about.But some stuff I come across is so bad, I just can't let it go:Q. Gov. Phil Murphy […]
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• The Case For Stable, Adequate, and Predictable School Funding March 10, 2019
  Here in New Jersey, we're entering budget season -- and that means the beginning of the annual ritual of declaring "winners and losers" in state aid to school districts. Governor Phil Murphy just released his budgetary plan for schools, showing which districts will get more or less aid from the state this year.In a $38.6 […]
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• Thoughts on the Graduation Exam Mess in New Jersey February 23, 2019
  Let me recap where we are first -- skip down if you know the background.Way back in 1979, New Jersey passed a law which required high school students to take an exam before graduating (the Education Law Center has some background on that law here and here). The law says the exam must "...measure those basic […]
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• The True History of New Jersey Teachers' (and Other Public Workers') Sacrifices on Pensions And Benefits February 18, 2019
  I want to talk about a report that emerged a couple of weeks ago about New Jersey public employees' pensions and health care. But let me set the table first...Because every time I come across a story like this, it's as if the Ministry of Information has decided, once again, to disappear history. But I'm […]
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• Testing Chaos Continues in New Jersey February 16, 2019
  Here's an update from my last blog on the chaotic debate over New Jersey's high school exit exam:Yesterday, after several delays, the state announced a settlement that at least clarifies the path to graduation for New Jersey's high school juniors and seniors:New Jersey reached a settlement Friday that offers a clear path for juniors and […]
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