Focus on Schools

The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) works with the National Center for Educational Accountability (NCEA) and the New Jersey Department of Education to maintain
Just for the Kids - New Jersey, an online database of school performance.

Just for the Kids is a national program that helps inform, inspire, and improve schools. Thanks to ongoing corporate support, New Jersey school data have been available to the public in easy-to-understand bar charts, line graphs, and scatter plots for several years.

Just for the Kids is unique. It presents data on state assessments in Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science in ways that are fair (only including students that have been enrolled in the school since the beginning of a given school year) and relevant (schools are compared only to schools that have similar, or more challenging student populations).

These fair and relevant comparisons build a sense of possibility within school communities.

Every year, the BCEE uses data from Just for the Kids to determine which schools are top performers and which schools are making rapid improvements in student achievement. These Benchmark Schools are acknowledged and celebrated at a breakfast where school leaders receive Just for the Kids Benchmark School Banners.