Hoboken School District Ranked 69th out of 71 Similar NJ Districts on Grade 3 to 8 Growth Rates Despite Spending $28,217 per Student

Hoboken "Pop Up" Park- July 2017

Recent work by researchers at Stanford University shows that in the 5 years between Grades 3 and Grade 8, students in the Hoboken School district are advancing only 4.1 grade years. This represents the lowest rate in Hudson County, one of the lowest rates  in the State of New Jersey and bottom 13% in the United States. This despite spending $28,217 per student and in a district that is less than 50% free and reduced lunch.

An article in the New York Times by Emily Badger and Kevin Quealy spotlights the work of researchers at Stanford University and 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. 

Some may say that comparing the Hoboken School District to other schools in Hudson County, the state of NJ or the country is inappropriate because of the unique population the district serves. Well, in 1975 the New Jersey Department of Education developed a method of comparing students’ performance on statewide assessments across demographically similar school districts. The categories are updated every ten years when the Census Bureau releases the latest Decennial Census data. The following data are considered when a district is placed into a District Factor Group (DFG):

1) Percent of adults with no high school diploma
2) Percent of adults with some college education
3) Occupational status
4) Unemployment rate
5) Percent of individuals in poverty
6) Median family income.

When compared to similar districts, the Hoboken School District is ranked 69th out of 71 school districts on Grade 3 to 8 Growth Rate as calculated by researchers at Stanford University (ranked 4th in the country by US News and World Report). 

  NJ Growth Rates Grade 3 to 8 DFG="FG" by Anthony Petrosino on Scribd

GRADE 3 to 8 GROWTH RATES - New Jersey FG District Factor Group

Rank	COUNTY	CITY	GROWTH RATE	NAT %	DFG
1	Warren	Mansfield Township - Port Murray	6.4	100	FG
2	Monmouth	Spring Lake Heights Borou	6.3	100	FG
3	Passaic	North Haledon	6.3	99	FG
4	Bergen	Maywood	6.2	99	FG
5	Cape May	Upper Township	6.1	98	FG
6	Monmouth	Ocean Township - Oakhurst	6.1	98	FG
7	Monmouth	West Long Branch	6.1	99	FG
8	Bergen	Fort Lee	5.9	96	FG
9	Bergen	Northvale	5.9	97	FG
10	Burlington	Eastampton Township	5.9	96	FG
11	Ocean	Point Pleasant Beach	5.9	97	FG
12	Warren	Hope Township	5.9	96	FG
13	Gloucester	East Greenwich Township	5.8	94	FG
14	Middlesex	Milltown	5.8	95	FG
15	Sussex	Frankford Township	5.8	95	FG
16	Bergen	New Milford	5.6	91	FG
17	Bergen	Rochelle Park	5.6	89	FG
18	Burlington	Burlington Township	5.6	88	FG
19	Camden	Gibbsboro	5.6	91	FG
20	Gloucester	Pitman	5.6	90	FG
21	Hunterdon	Holland Township	5.6	91	FG
22	Sussex	Vernon Township	5.6	90	FG
23	Union	Clark Township	5.6	91	FG
24	Bergen	Dumont	5.5	86	FG
25	Gloucester	Mantua Township	5.5	86	FG
26	Sussex	Andover Regional	5.5	87	FG
27	Sussex	Hardyston Township	5.5	86	FG
28	Sussex	Stillwater Township	5.5	87	FG
29	Burlington	Delran Township	5.4	80	FG
30	Camden	Barrington Borough	5.4	80	FG
31	Hunterdon	Kingwood Township	5.4	83	FG
32	Passaic	Bloomingdale	5.4	84	FG
33	Passaic	Little Falls Township	5.4	83	FG
34	Salem	Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regi	5.4	82	FG
35	Burlington	Cinnaminson Township	5.3	76	FG
36	Gloucester	Washington Township - Long Valley	5.3	76	FG
37	Morris	Rockaway Borough	5.3	78	FG
38	Warren	Blairstown Township	5.3	76	FG
39	Burlington	Bordentown Regional Schoo	5.2	70	FG
40	Burlington	Hainesport Township	5.2	74	FG
41	Camden	Collingswood Borough	5.2	71	FG
42	Gloucester	Logan Township	5.2	71	FG
43	Middlesex	Middlesex Borough	5.2	72	FG
44	Monmouth	Eatontown	5.2	76	FG
45	Morris	Lincoln Park Borough	5.2	74	FG
46	Morris	Mine Hill Township	5.2	75	FG
47	Passaic	Pompton Lakes	5.2	75	FG
48	Somerset	Somerville Borough	5.2	71	FG
49	Middlesex	Old Bridge Township	5.1	67	FG
50	Bergen	Wood-Ridge	5	60	FG
51	Middlesex	South Plainfield	5	61	FG
52	Monmouth	Matawan-Aberdeen Regional	5	62	FG
53	Burlington	Springfield	4.8	46	FG
54	Middlesex	North Brunswick Township	4.8	46	FG
55	Monmouth	Howell Township	4.8	51	FG
56	Morris	Boonton Town	4.8	52	FG
57	Burlington	Lumberton Township	4.7	41	FG
58	Middlesex	Dunellen	4.7	44	FG
59	Bergen	Hasbrouck Heights	4.6	35	FG
60	Camden	Haddon Township	4.6	39	FG
61	Essex	Nutley	4.6	38	FG
62	Morris	Riverdale	4.6	33	FG
63	Ocean	Point Pleasant Borough	4.6	34	FG
64	Middlesex	Monroe Township - Williamstown	4.5	31	FG
65	Passaic	West Milford Township	4.4	26	FG
66	Sussex	Hopatcong Borough	4.4	25	FG
67	Sussex	Ogdensburg Borough	4.4	25	FG
68	Bergen	Bergenfield	4.3	19	FG
69	Hudson	Hoboken	4.1	13	FG
70	Gloucester	South Harrison Township	3.7	4	FG
71	Passaic	Lakewood Township	3.6	4	FG