Newark – 2022

2022 City Studies

Summary of Findings

This summary highlights major findings about students’ academic performance in public K-12 schools in Newark, New Jersey. Performance is measured by one-year learning gain or growth students made from one school year to the next. We benchmark Newark students’ growth against the state average growth and then compare the progress of charter and magnet school students with that of similar non-magnet district school (abbreviated as district school) students within Newark, accounting for student characteristics.


Overall:

In 2018-19 growth period, students in Newark posted stronger learning gains compared to the state average in math. In reading, performance growth of Newark students did not differ significantly from the state average student.

Sector:

In both reading and math, Newark charter school students made stronger gains than the state average in 2018-19 school year. Newark magnet schools showed similar learning gains in both reading and math. District school students in Newark grew similarly compared to the state average student in reading. In math, district school students outperformed the state average in 2018-19 school year. Within Newark, charter schools exhibited stronger growth than district schools in reading. While no significant sector difference in growth was found in math within Newark.

A deeper dive into Newark student growth for the period ending in Spring 2019 reveals the following findings:

Charter School Type:

Newark charter schools affiliated with a Charter Management Organization (CMO) make greater progress in reading and math than the state average. Students attending Newark independent charter schools post stronger learning gains in math, while exhibited similar gains in reading than the state average. There is no significant difference in learning gains between CMOs and independent charter schools within the Newark charter sector in both reading and math.

Race/Ethnicity:

Overall, Newark black students make stronger learning gains in math and similar progress in reading compared to the state average black student. Breakout analyses by sector suggest that Newark charter black students make greater learning gains in both reading and math than the average black student statewide. Black students attending Newark magnet schools grow similarly in reading and math. Similarly, Newark district school black students’ learning gains are on par with the state average of black students in both subjects. Within Newark, charter school black students exhibited stronger growth than district school black students in reading.

Newark Hispanic students overall make stronger growth in math and do not perform differently in reading compared to the state average Hispanic student. Newark charter school Hispanic students show greater learning gains in both reading and math than the state average of Hispanic students. Newark magnet school Hispanic students do not grow differently in reading and math. District school Hispanic students show no difference in learning gains than the average Hispanic student in the state in reading, while showing greater learning gains than their state peers in math. Within Newark, charter school Hispanic students outgrow district school Hispanic students in reading.

Poverty, ELL, and Special Education:

Compared to the state average of students living in poverty, Newark students living in poverty, overall and particularly those attending charter schools, make greater learning gains in both reading and math. Newark magnet school students in poverty do not significantly differ in both subjects. Newark district school students in poverty grow similarly compared to the state average of students living in poverty in reading, while outperform their state peers in math. Within Newark, charter school students in poverty outperform district school students in poverty in reading.

English Language Learners (ELLs) in Newark show growth similar to the state average of ELLs in reading, while show stronger learning gains in math. Breakout analyses by sector suggest significant stronger performance in learning gains in both subjects among Newark’s charter ELL students compared to the average ELL in the state. Magnet ELL students grow on par with the state average in reading and math. District ELL students exhibit stronger learning gains in math, while show similar gains in reading compare to the state average. Sector comparisons within Newark indicate that ELL students enrolled in charter schools show stronger growth in reading compared with ELL students attending district schools.

Newark students receiving special education services make greater learning gains in reading and math compared to the state average of special education students. In sector breakout analyses, better performance is found in reading for Newark charter and better performance in math for magnet school students with special education designations compared to the average special education student in the state. Special education students attending Newark district schools are on par with the state average special education student in reading, while show stronger growth in math. Cross-sector comparisons within Newark indicate that special education students enrolled in magnet schools make greater learning gains in math than special education students attending district schools.

Gender:

Both male and female students in Newark overall post stronger math growth and similar reading gains than the average student of the same gender in the state. The patterns of learning gains for students by gender mostly mirror each other when broken down by the subgroups. Male and female students studying in Newark charter schools outperform the average student of the same gender statewide in both reading and math. Students male students enrolled in Newark magnet schools make greater progress in reading and grow similarly in math relative to the state average of the same gender group, while for female students enrolled in magnet schools grow similarly in both subjects. Both male and female students in Newark district schools exhibit similar learning gains compared to the average student of the same gender statewide in reading, and stronger learning gains in math. Within Newark, male and female students in charter schools make greater gains in reading than the students of the same gender in Newark district schools. Both male and female students in Newark magnet schools grow on par with their peers in Newark district schools in both subjects.


Presentation of Findings