School buildings, which once languished in disrepair, have been rehabbed or replaced. In Jersey City, the improvements in test scores have come mostly in lower grades. And even boosters admit high school scores will be tough to raise. Whatever the outcome, Jersey City is being closely watched by reformers nationwide, because it was the first district taken over by a state. The approach has been tried across the country - in Chicago, Baltimore, Hartford, Conn., Washington, and other cities.
Reformers say the threat of a takeover has even forced other districts to shape up on their own.
New Jersey broke new ground. BUT replacing top management doesn't erase other daunting troubles facing urban schools. New administrators work with the same teachers, for example, some of whom were hired through patronage. Poor children arrive at the schoolhouse door with the same set of problems as before. Principals say many parents don't read to their children, and some kindergartners arrive unable to count to 10 or identify primary colors.