page_title: Abbott district
section_title: Performance
hierarchical_section_title: Abbott district / Performance
caption_attribution_description: English: Graph from NJ Department of Education 2012 report on student performance in Abbott School districts. It depicts the gaps in Math proficiency between "advantaged" and "disadvantaged" students.
context_page_description: Abbott districts are school districts in New Jersey that are provided remedies to ensure that their students receive public education in accordance with the state constitution. They were created in 1985 as a result of the first ruling of Abbott v. Burke, a case filed by the Education Law Center. The ruling asserted that public primary and secondary education in poor communities throughout the state was unconstitutionally substandard. The Abbott II ruling in 1990 had the most far-reaching effects, ordering the state to fund the 28 Abbott districts at the average level of the state's wealthiest districts. The Abbott District system was replaced in 2007 by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.
  There are now 31 "Abbott districts" in the state, which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.
context_section_description: The program improved achievement in early grades, but not in upper grades. Early education programs including free preschool helped close part of the gaps for Fourth graders whose performance gap "narrowed from 31 points in 1999 to 19 points in 2007, and on state reading tests from 22 points in 2001 to 15 points in 2007." However, as students advanced in grade, their relative performance gains were lost, such that high school students showed no improvement at all and one expert, the Assistant Commissioner at the New Jersey Department of Education from 2002 to 2007 said that the program had not eliminated the effects of poverty. "When you get to middle school, eighth grade, high school – forget about it. This has been a huge failure."
  A 2012 New Jersey Department of Education study notes that between 1973 (the time of the legal decision) and 2010 the average per-pupil expenditure in those districts had nearly tripled to $18,850, or $3,200 more than the State average (excluding the former-Abbotts) and $3,100 more than the State's wealthiest districts.  In total, more than $40B in additional finding has been provided to the schools. Despite "more than adequate" funding, the achievement gap between economically advantaged and disadvantaged students persists or has widened.
  When measuring college readiness, Abbott districts fare poorly relative to other areas despite higher than average spending per pupil. During the 2011-2012 school year:
  Newark spent approximately $17,553 per-pupil, but only 9.8% of its SAT test takers met the College-Readiness Benchmark in 2009-2010.
  Camden spent approximately $19,204 per-pupil, but only 1.4% of its test takers met the Benchmark.
  Asbury Park spent $23,940 per-pupil but none of its SAT test takers in 2009-2010 met the Benchmark.
  In 2011, there was a 38% gap between white and African American students on college readiness, up from 35% in 2006.  The gap for Hispanic students rose from 28% to 30% in the same period.
caption: From 2005 to 2011, the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students remained constant in Math proficiency[6]
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