Effective School Districts: An Analysis by Researchers at Stanford University Shows Hoboken has the Lowest Growth Rate in Hudson County, and Among the Lowest Growth Rates in the State of New Jersey and the Entire Nation (bottom 13%)

Hudson County Growth Rates (see full data below)
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How would you feel is after 5 years of schooling (Grades 3 to 8),  your child advanced the equivalent of 6 years? In Chicago where new data shows this is occurring, parents, teachers, school officials and taxpayers are thrilled. Now, how would you feel if after 5 years of schooling you found out your child advanced only 4.1 years? That is the case of what is occurring in Hoboken, NJ. 
In the 5 years between Grades 3 and Grade 8, students in that district are advancing only 4.1 grade years. The lowest rate in Hudson County, and one of the lowest rates  in the State of New Jersey and in the nation. 

An article in the New York Times by Emily Badger and Kevin Quealy spotlights the work of researchers at Stanford University should be of great interest. The researchers not only used state test scores but a host of other data to present one of the most comprehensive studies yet on student success and effectiveness of school districts in delivering a quality educational experience for children. -Dr. Petrosino 

In some public school systems like the Chicago Public Schools system, enrollment has been declining, the budget is seldom enough, and three in four children come from low-income homes, a profile that would seemingly consign the district to low expectations. In fact, some would characterize the Hoboken Public Schools in this manner (although not accurate). But students in Chicago are learning faster than those in almost every other school system in the country, according to new data from researchers at Stanford University. Not so in Hoboken, a much smaller district, much better funded and far less children from low-income homes. 

In Hoboken, New Jersey after 5 years of instruction from Grade 3 to Grade 8, students advance only 4.1 grade years. This is by far the lowest effective rate of all districts in Hudson County, many of which have much higher percentages of low income students and less well funded schools than Hoboken. Hoboken has one of the highest cost per student allocations in the State of New Jersey and far above any national average. Hoboken also has a declining percentage of students from low income families. 

Data based on some 300 million elementary-school test scores across more than 11,000 school districts, tweaks conventional wisdom in many ways. Some urban and Southern districts are doing better than data typically suggests. Some wealthy ones don’t look that effective. Many poor school systems do.

5 Year Effective Growth Rate- Hoboken (NY Times)

This picture, and both Chicago’s and Hoboken’s place in it, defy how we typically think about wealth and education in America. It’s true that children in prosperous districts tend to test well, while children in poorer districts on average score lower. But in this analysis, which measures how scores grow as student cohorts move through school, the Stanford researcher Sean Reardon argues that it’s possible to separate some of the advantages of socioeconomics from what’s actually happening in schools.

“One question we’ve been asking ourselves is: Do urban public school systems simply reflect the poverty of the kids in the schools, or do they overcome those effects to any degree?” said Michael Casserly, the executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, which represents large urban districts. This new data shows that student in Chicago overcome them while children in Hoboken, NJ do not. 

Educators have long debated whether it’s better to evaluate students and schools on proficiency levels or growth rates. Mr. Reardon’s data makes possible a national database of both. 

Districts with high growth are scattered across the country, in contrast with sharp geographic divisions on proficiency tests like the NAEP which show Northern schools ahead of those in the Deep South. School systems across Arizona and Tennessee that appear to test well below national averages are in fact over performing in growth. 

District Effectiveness Data (Stanford University/NY Times)
Hudson County, New Jersey (data obtained 2018)

Name of School District	Growth Rate After 5 Years (Yrs.)	National %
East Newark	5.7	92
Guttenberg	5.6	90
Harrison	5.2	71
Jersey City	5.1	66
North Bergen	5.1	66
Kearny	4.9	58
Secaucus	4.8	48
West New York	4.8	47
Bayonne	4.7	40
Weehawken	4.7	41
Union City	4.6	38
Hoboken	4.1	13

Average Growth Rate: 4.87 yrs
Standard Deviation for Average Growth Rate: 0.38 yrs

  New Jersey 5 Year Efficiency Rating by Anthony Petrosino on Scribd
(note: scroll through all the data for NJ School Districts- Hoboken is on p.11) 
Hoboken ranked 428 out of 442 ranked NJ school districts