Covid learning loss aside, why is it that NJ kids don’t score as well as they used to on standardized tests? One reason is that schools have dropped the bar. My kids went to LCMR. They had final exams, 70 was passing, and they had term papers & essays. By the time my grandkids got there, no more final exams, and passing was dropped to 65, far fewer papers & essays. When my kids went, there were layers of classes- Honors, AP, College Prep, General. W/ my grandkids, the Gen. was removed and according to teachers, the CP work had to be watered down to avoid a high failure rate.