New Jersey high schools like those in most states are not doing enough to prepare students for college or careers, according to a national report released late last month. The report by Achieve Inc., a Washington-based nonprofit group that helps states raise education standards, found that while New Jersey is making efforts to improve its high schools, there’s still more for it to do. Most states are grappling with the same issues, Achieve said. “It is possible to get a high school diploma today and graduate high school still unprepared for college or good entry level jobs,” Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, a co-chairman of Achieve’s board of directors, said during a conference call. Achieve is urging New Jersey to make high school more rigorous and to issue more useful standardized tests. For instance, New Jersey now requires students to take three years of math to graduate from high school. Achieve wants the state to set standards for what skills the students need to learn in specific classes, such as algebra and geometry. Also, Achieve wants high school graduation tests to be tough enough that they can be used for college admissions and college class placement purposes, too. All those changes are in various stages of planning or implementation, according to a progress report on high school reform that New Jersey education and business leaders compiled for Achieve. New Jersey education officials say they’re trying to follow Achieve’s recommendations for the state’s students. “We need to prepare them to succeed in the 21st century,” said Acting Education Commissioner Lucille Davy.