Governor Livingston High School in top quarter of N.J. High Schools but last in seven-district dashboard

-Written by an Educator in the Community

Earlier this week, U.S. News and World Report released their public high school rankings. The specific link to New Jersey public high school rankings can be found here. Now, it is time to see how Governor Livingston High School (GLHS) compares to neighboring high schools.

According to U.S. News and World Reports, these rankings are based on various factors including standardized test scores to assess math, science, and reading proficiency; college readiness; underserved student performance; college curriculum breadth; and graduation rates.

Listed below are seven districts that can be found in Berkeley Heights Community Watch’s (BHCW) seven-district dashboard compared to the 2023 rankings:

#19: Millburn High School; same rank (19th place) as 2023

#21: Chatham High School; same rank (21st place) as 2023

#29: Summit High School; decreased 6 places (23rd place) from 2023

#40: Westfield High School; increased 9 places (49th place) from 2023

#41: New Providence High School; increased 10 places (51st place) from 2023

#52: Madison High School; decreased 12 places (40th place) from 2023

#90: Governor Livingston High School; decreased 10 places (80th place) from 2023

A total of 426 public high schools were ranked in New Jersey.

The theme of these rankings is that besides the fact that the magnet high schools/academies fill out the majority of the top 20, Millburn again ranks at the top high school in our region with Chatham and Summit not far behind. This is consistent with recent rankings from the New Jersey Department of Education that reflect each district as a whole (including elementary and middle school).

Governor Livingston High School, unfortunately, dropped 10 places from the prior year, is behind neighboring districts, but is still within the top quarter (top 25 percent) of all high schools in New Jersey.

Questions that must be asked go as follows:

• What can an Acting Superintendent and the next Superintendent do to improve student performance at Governor Livingston High School?
• What role does the Board of Education have in providing support via funding and properly allocating funding to support current courses, program, and professional development for high school teachers?
• What current courses/programs can be enhanced and which new courses/programs can be developed to support what currently exists?
• What should the current administration do to support teacher evaluations when GLHS is falling behind neighboring high schools?
• How can not only the high school, but courses and programs at Columbia Middle School, be strengthened to provide a strong Grade 6-12 continuum?
• Additionally, what can be added/improved at Columbia Middle School to support courses/programs at GLHS?
• What can be done to build a stronger relationship when it comes to curriculum and instruction with Mountainside?
• From last year, how does GLHS have the highest cost per pupil spend of the seven districts but the lowest rank?

Other neighboring high school rankings include Livingston (#20), Ridge/Bernards Township (#25), Somerset Hills/Bernards (#59), Scotch Plains-Fanwood (#70), Watchung Hills (#81), Cranford (#94), Bridgewater-Raritan (#108), Morristown (#112), Springfield/Jonathan Dayton (#121), and Clark/ALJ (#173).

BHCW allows for confidential articles from non-administrators of local public entities whose careers would be affected because of their efforts in informing the public. BHCW also allows contributions from members of non-profits whose positions as volunteers would be in jeopardy as a result of sharing their positions. In the case of the latter, the non-profit the writer is associated with will be identified. We have confirmed the source of this article, know their location and full name and have had face to face contact with the individual.

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