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ELC Urges NJ to Address Negative Impacts of High School Graduation “Exit Test” Requirement

IEPs Must Govern for Students with Disabilities

In a letter to Acting Commissioner of Education Kevin Dehmer, Education Law Center urged the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) to address the inequitable impact of the state’s “exit testing” policy, with special attention to the negative consequences on students with disabilities. The letter comes at a time when New Jersey will soon be one of only six states that use high stakes exit testing as a condition of high school graduation.

Under New Jersey’s graduation rules, in addition to completing all credit, service, attendance, and other requirements for graduation, students are required to obtain a passing score on a designated high school proficiency test. Currently, all general education students must either pass the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA), obtain a passing score on one of several substitute assessments, or complete a cumbersome and time-consuming portfolio appeals process. While these requirements also apply to students with disabilities, each Individualized Education Program (IEP) team is legally tasked by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) with determining how a particular student with a disability must be assessed, including whether alternative means of assessment are needed.

But things changed in April 2021, when, after a federal performance review, the NJDOE issued guidance explaining that the U.S. Department of Education now requires the exclusion from the state’s official federal graduation rate of thousands of students with disabilities who have not satisfied the exit testing requirements. As a result, the NJDOE is now reporting two different graduation rates: an “official” federal rate used for school and district accountability under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, and an “unofficial” state rate for all graduating students, including those who have met state graduation requirements in accordance with their IEPs. For the class of 2022 (the most recent cohort for which the data is available), the “official,” federal graduation rate for students with disabilities fell to 48.5%, while the “unofficial” state rate was 80.5%. The exclusion of over 6000 students with disabilities from the “official” calculations caused the state’s overall graduation rate to fall to 85.2%, a significant decline from the all-time high of 91% in 2020.

“ELC has received reports that schools are putting increasing pressure on students with disabilities to qualify for inclusion in the ‘official’ graduation rate by sitting for multiple administrations of the various graduation assessments, even when IEP teams have recommended the use of alternative means of assessing readiness for graduation,” said ELC Senior Attorney Elizabeth Athos. “Doing away with the exit test requirement would enable New Jersey to resume reporting one graduation rate and would eliminate the growing pressures on students with disabilities to take inappropriate and unnecessary assessments.”

There is a bill pending in the Legislature (S1562/A4121) to end the exit test requirement and bring New Jersey in line with the vast majority of states. In the meantime, ELC’s letter to the Acting Commissioner urges the NJDOE to immediately put the following safeguards in place:

  • Prohibiting school districts from requiring students with disabilities to take the NJGPA or any of the substitute competency assessments whenever a student’s IEP team has determined that the particular student should be assessed through alternate means.
  • Prohibiting school districts from requiring any students with disabilities to complete the portfolio appeals process unless it is explicitly required by their IEP.
  • Guaranteeing that all students have free and equal access to all graduation pathways, including fee-based assessments defined by regulation as part of “the state graduation proficiency test.”
  • Ensuring that school districts make the portfolio appeals process a viable option for students who need a third pathway. This includes:
    • Prohibiting school districts from making the portfolio appeals process available only as an alternative class in lieu of an elective; and
    • Ensuring that special education teachers are available to work with students with disabilities who engage in the portfolio appeals process.

Related Stories:

MORE STATES REJECT EXIT EXAMS: WILL NJ FOLLOW?

EXIT TESTING IS LOWERING NJ’S GRADUATION RATE

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Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x240