• Focus attention on metrics that are indicative of college and career readiness.

• Benchmark a school's performance against other schools that are educating similar students, against district and state-wide outcomes, and against state targets to illuminate and build upon a school's strengths and identify areas for improvement.

• Improve educational outcomes for students by providing both longitudinal and growth data so that progress can be measured as part of an individual school's efforts to engage in continuous improvement.

While the New Jersey School Performance Reports seek to bring more information to educators and stakeholders about the performance of schools, they do not seek to distill the performance of schools into a single metric, a single score, or a simplified conclusion. Instead, the intention is that educators and stakeholders will engage in meaningful conversations about the full range of the data presented. While the School Performance Reports bring attention to important student outcomes, the NJDOE does not collect data about other essential elements of a school, such as the provision of opportunities to participate and excel in extracurricular activities; the development of non-cognitive skills; the pervasiveness of a positive school culture or climate; or the attainment of other employability and technical skills, as many of these data are beyond both the capacity and resources of schools to measure.

NJDOE welcomes feedback on the school performance reports: Survey.

If you have questions regarding Performance Reports, please contact njsmart@pcgus.com.