In a mandatory state test to measure college and career readiness in literacy and mathematics, students in the Harrison Township School District performed at least 12 percent better than the state average.
Chief Academic Officer Lisa Heenan presented the results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment spring tests to the Harrison Township School District Board of Education during its latest meeting on Oct. 28.
The grades represented in these results were from grades three to six.
“We really need to take the time to really celebrate where that growth came from so we can do it again to make sure they are meeting grade-level standards by the time they leave us and go on,” said Superintendent Margaret Peretti.
As part of a requirement for all NJ public school districts, students in grades three to 11 are tested in literacy and mathematics to assess how well students are meeting grade-level NJSLA standards.
In the English Language Arts test, students performed 13.8 to 26.9 percent higher than the state average. In the mathematics test, students performed 12 to 24.4 percent higher than the state average.
“We’re proud of those gains,” said Heenan.
Staff in the district use the data to identify strengths and gaps that exist in the curriculum and instruction.
Among the district, the fifth grade received the lowest-performing results in mathematics, with 61 percent of students either meeting or exceeding expectations. The highest performing results was in the third grade, with 74 percent of students either meeting or exceeding expectations.
In ELA, the lowest-performing results were in the third grade, with 64 percent of students either meeting or exceeding expectations. The sixth grade received the highest performing results of 83 percent either meeting or exceeding expectations.
By looking at the results, the district considers where additional resources are needed.
“We know that we perform a lot higher than the state, but even if we’re 30 percent above the state, but we’re only 60 percent proficient, we’ll still need to do better for those 40 percent of kids who didn’t get the question,” said Heenan.
