This follows a too-familiar and too-damaging pattern. While states rightfully implement benchmarks, screenings, and requirements for literacy standards at early grades, math doesn’t get the same urgent treatment.

“A diploma is supposed to signal that a student is prepared for what comes next, whether college, training or employment. Too often, it has become the bookend of a high school career, concealing unfinished learning.” Read more about the big math problem this causes: dcjournal.com/a-new-school...

A New School Year, a Big Math Problem – DC Journal - InsideSources

A new school year has begun with plenty of promise. Students are returning to classrooms ready to learn, build on what they know, and move one step closer

dcjournal.com

Take a bite out of this 3rd-grade standard challenge, then get more Math Checkups to gauge your child’s math progress on our site: www.wakeupcallnj.com/mathcheckups

This study from @‌nwea drives home just how quickly the window for intervention closes for our youngest students. We must act on the best available data with a corresponding urgency. Read more from the study here: www.nwea.org/uploads/Behi...

Why does NJ set a lower bar for college readiness than the one set by the ACT test? Learn more in the report from and ask yourself: are we giving NJ students and families the education they deserve, or are we just giving them a piece of paper and a pat on the back? weareallsolvers.org/nj/

A new report shows that the UCSD remediation crisis isn’t unique to California. In NJ, we have similar set of problems at Rutgers. The author of the report stopped by our blog to explain his findings. Read more here: mailchi.mp/wakeupcallnj...

There are stark warning signs in both 8th grade NAEP and NJ state level standardized tests. Too many of our middle schoolers aren’t reaching proficiency - to say nothing of their true potential. And those gaps in skills grow when unaddressed.

Fewer than half of NJ third graders meet reading standards on new state test

The New Jersey Department of Education last week released preliminary proficiency rates for students in grades 3 through 9. The results signal post-pandemic learning declines have continued.

chalkbeat.org

Make your minutes count, then get more Math Checkups to prep for class on our site: www.wakeupcallnj.com/mathcheckups

More than 10% of Rutgers college freshman are placed into Elementary and Intermediate Algebra courses. This is a problem we continue to ignore at our own peril. Read more in this paper: weareallsolvers.org/nj/

Earning a diploma should mean… earning it. NJ has softened high school graduation standards by creating alternative pathways. Now public institutions like Rutgers are paying the price Learn more about how we got to this point in this report: weareallsolvers.org/nj/

The latest rankings of the best schools from US News & World Report follows an old pattern: low expectations and grading on a curve. Read more in our latest newsletter: mailchi.mp/wakeupcallnj...

A new report from @‌studentsuccess and @‌chadaldeman sounds the alarm on NJ college students' missing math skills. Freshmen arrive at Rutgers only to discover that they have to retake classes they believed - thanks to their As and Bs - they mastered in high school or middle school.

False Hope: New Jersey Kids Aren’t Ready for College - We're All Solvers

New Jersey's high school graduation rate just hit a record high. Its students' readiness for college math didn't follow, with a 30+ point gap between the grad rate and math proficiency. A new report…

weareallsolvers.org

This study from @‌nwea drives home just how quickly the window for intervention closes for our youngest students. We must act on the best available data with a corresponding urgency. Read more from the study here: www.nwea.org/uploads/Behi...

How does a student get an A in Calculus in high school, then have to take remedial courses on pre-algebra in college? The K-12 system has failed them, ironically, by passing them onto the courses students aren’t prepared for but college admissions offices want to see on transcripts.

One of the most-overlooked elections can have the biggest impact on your student’s academic achievement. Our guest contributor Carolina Bevad, current mom and former teacher, has insider tips to help you learn as much as possible about your representatives. Read more: mailchi.mp/wakeupcallnj...

We have to believe we can do better by our students. And then we have to act upon that belief. Statistics from NJ DOE: static1.squarespace.com/static/69232...

We can’t point to one single factor for the decline in test scores. Luckily, we don’t need to. We can return to the culture of achievement and accountability that led to the decades of improvement that peaked in the early 2010s. Excellent perspective for NJ: www.nationalreview.com/magazine/202...

The Test-Score Mystery | National Review

The prolonged decline has no clear cause.

nationalreview.com

Every parent, educator, taxpayer and advocate should be heartened by what they’re hearing from our new education leadership in NJ. Now we need to see the outcomes of those common-sense commitments to academic achievement. Read more in our latest newsblast: mailchi.mp/wakeupcallnj...

More time doing well-targeted math practice = better academic outcomes. It’s not flashy or shocking, but it is actionable. Some good news and grounding perspective to guide both parents and educators in helping students succeed. Read more: weareallsolvers.org/its-not-the-...

It’s Not the AI Tutor. It’s The Practice That Counts. - We're All Solvers

A large randomized evaluation of AI tutoring in U.S. public schools set out to test Khan Academy's AI tutor, Khanmigo. But the study’s most interesting finding is about the power of well-structured…

weareallsolvers.org

Get cooking with practical math skills, then get more Math Checkups on our site: www.wakeupcallnj.com/mathcheckups

When teachers are prevented from enacting clear standards and consequences, their relationship with their students suffers. Let’s support NJ educators and students with accountability that pushes everyone to fulfill their true potential this school year!

Should teachers give a grade of zero when a student does zero work? Or should they be forced to give that student no lower than 50%? 27% of teachers across the US report that their district mandates the latter policy, known as a ‘grading floor.’

This State Banned Nonzero Grading Policies. Why Some Schools Use Them

A new law bans "grading floors," which require a minimum grade of 50% for assignments or grading periods.

edweek.org

Learning can happen anywhere and anytime. And it needs to! In our most recent newsletter, guest contributor Katherine Bassett, CEO of New Jersey Tutoring Corps, has tips and tools for families to build essential math and reading skills during daily routines. mailchi.mp/wakeupcallnj...

NJ families prize our school systems. Does the DoE return that trust? Parents deserve transparency and clear communication about the new NJSLA-A exam and creation of benchmark scores. Forthrightness will lead to better results for all parties. njedreport.com/barone-the-l...

BARONE: The Late Arrival of New Jersey’s Test Scores Isn’t the Only Problem - NJ Education Report

We also need transparency about how the state plans to go about defining different levels of student achievement.

njedreport.com

Math helps your kid maximize style, think flexibly, and choose their own path! Get your student ready for class with more Math Checkups on our site: www.wakeupcallnj.com/mathcheckups

The NJSLA-A is adaptive, meaning it adjusts questions to challenge and encourage students. Unfortunately the first results are as discouraging as previous statewide examinations. Families might not be aware of these scores, given our 91% HS graduation rate and 80% of students receiving As and Bs.

The CLT is gaining popularity, being accepted by more and more universities, as well as Armed Forces academies. The problem? The exam tests much more middle school math content than the ACT and SAT.

Initial data from the NJSLA-A shows that 40% of the class of 2027 are not graduation ready in math. This is in line with previous years. When will proficiency improve? It almost certainly won’t happen before awareness of our math problem in NJ increases. www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/08/lowe...

Add up some style and get your kid ready for back-to-school with more Math Checkups on our site: www.wakeupcallnj.com/mathcheckups

This survey result mirrors what we see in NJ - only 46% of SAT test-takers demonstrated college readiness in both math and reading. Yet 91% of high-school students graduate on time. We need to get honest with our grading systems so that students and families get the full picture of their progress.