Rutgers Partners With Department of Education to Improve K-12 Learning Outcomes

The New Jersey State Policy Lab and Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers University have launched the New Jersey Promising Practices Project in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Education to bolster K-12 student learning outcomes.

The Department of Education developed the project after most New Jersey schools experienced declines in learning outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. But state officials found roughly 15 percent of public schools increased proficiency rates in math or language arts in the first assessment year since the pandemic (2018-2019 to 2021-2022). Motivated by these observations, they formed a plan to identify and document promising practices for learning acceleration in K-12 schools throughout the state.

Since the project’s launch in 2023, Rutgers researchers identified “positive outlier” public schools in the state based on Department of Education school performance reports, student demographic and testing data and socioeconomic files from the National Center for Education Statistics. These positive outliers include schools which have demonstrated positive student learning outcomes when comparing pre- to post-pandemic performance in English and mathematics. Rutgers researchers interviewed administrators, teachers and other school staff to identify innovations and best practices that improved student learning outcomes in 52 of these schools.

“We’re delighted to work with the New Jersey Department of Education to identify strategies for improving student learning outcomes for all students, and especially for historically marginalized student groups,” said Elizabeth Cooner, executive director of the Policy Lab and principal investigator of the Promising Practices Project. “We have had the privilege of talking with truly inspiring educators who are transforming students’ lives with their innovative practices. By sharing these promising practices with other schools, we hope to expand opportunities for student learning across the state.”

“I am thrilled that the New Jersey Department of Education has commissioned such a bold, statewide study to understand and document the promising practices in schools which mitigated the negative impact of the pandemic on student learning,” said Vandeen Campbell, associate director of the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers University–Newark. “The study presents an opportunity to learn from schools that improved performance, maintained already strong performance, or performed better than expected. It should be exciting to showcase and discuss what schools have shared in the coming months.”

The Promising Practices team will present research findings at regional convenings and conferences in December 2024. Additional information— including a list of participating public schools—related to the New Jersey Promising Practices Project and future events can be found on the Promising Practices website.

The New Jersey State Policy Lab assists the state and its many communities in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies and programs by conducting rigorous, evidence-based research that considers equity, efficiency and efficacy of public policies and programs in holistic and innovative ways. The lab is run as a partnership between the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in Rutgers–New Brunswick and the School of Public Affairs and Administration in Rutgers–Newark. The Policy Lab is funded by the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE), and the contents of this report don’t necessarily represent the policy or endorsement of OSHE or the State of New Jersey.

Since it was established in 2000, the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies has been a signature component of Rutgers University–Newark’s commitment to be an anchor institution for the metropolitan area. The center strives to be neutral ground, where people of disparate views and interests can come together around questions of mutual interests. The Cornwall Center sponsors research projects, publications, conferences, symposia, seminars, workshops, public forums and incubates projects translating research into effective practice with the result of revitalizing Newark and similar communities in the region and state.