Dr. Dorothy Strickland Appointed to NJ State Board of Education Task Force

Member of the New Jersey State Board of Education and Graduate School of Education Faculty Emerita, Dr. Dorothy Strickland has been named a member of a task force designed by the New Jersey State Board of Education to address the state’s academic achievement gap.

The task force is comprised of ten members each representing different areas within education. The task force already held initial meetings and is planning on holding regional public hearings in the future. These hearings will provide the opportunity for public feedback in response to the state’s academic achievement gap.

As part of the task force, Dr. Dorothy Strickland will examine reasons why many poor and minority students in New Jersey do not score as high on standardized testing compared to their more-affluent peers. Themes that will be discussed and examined include access to education, culture/climate, expectations and strategies. By observing these factors, the task force will provide the State Board and policy makers with recommendations of strategies to close the achievement gap. Essentially, the task force is designed to develop a plan of action of how to ensure that all students in New Jersey, regardless of factors such as ethnicity or economic background, are receiving quality education.

The task force is supported by ETS, the Department of Education and the Office of the Acting Secretary of Higher Education/Commission on Higher Education.