Statement from BOE Representative Dr. Thomas Foregger
On September 4 the New Jersey State Board of Education proposed changes to the way the instruction and program component of the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) score is computed. A school needs to score 80 points in each component of the NJQSAC in order to be deemed a high performing district; Berkeley Heights currently has that designation. The intent of the proposed changes seems to be to place more emphasis on making progress toward proficiency and less emphasis on proficiency itself in the State monitoring system.
More specifically, the proposed changes are as follows: For a K-12 district the weights for the Proficiency scores on Math and ELA would be lowered from 7.5 to 7. The weight for the science proficiency score would be lowered from 5 to 3.5. So, for example, if the proficiency score in Mathematics was 80%, the points for proficiency would be lowered by .40 under the revised scoring system. At the same time, the weights for making progress on proficiency have been raised upward from 7.5 to 8.75 for Math and ELA. (There are no points awarded for progress on the science test, since it is only given in a few grades.) While the award of points for progress toward proficiency is somewhat complicated, at best our district could receive 1.25 more Instruction and program points from each of Math and ELA.
In summary, the proposed changes would put more emphasis on progress toward proficiency than on proficiency itself, but the changes are small in the scheme of things. As long as Berkeley Heights continues to make progress on improving its proficiency scores these changes would be helpful in maintaining our status as a high-performing district.
While I am a member of the Berkeley Heights Board of Education, these statements are not being made on behalf of the Board.