Test scores provide context alongside other districts

-Written by a non-politically connected Educator in the Community

Following up on a recent post on Berkeley Heights Community Watch from a Board of Education (BOE) candidate and a parent, the main source of school rankings originate from test scores such as the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA for students in Grades 3 to Grade 11), New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA for Grade 11 students), and Advanced Placement (AP) testing. There are also other metrics such as athletics, administration, and clubs/activities.

Below is the context of the rankings from NJSLA in spring 2023.

Presented at the assessment report during the October 17th, 2024 New Providence Board of Education meeting, numbers were reflected showing New Providence’s strength in ELA and math, especially ELA. These numbers originate from the New Jersey School Performance Reports. 

The below chart was shared during the most recent New Providence BOE meeting but re-organized from highest to lowest test scores in their nine district summary.

Overall themes from the above chart:

• Berkeley Heights (BHPS) ranks seventh overall out of the nine districts provided. 
• In English Language Arts (ELA), BHPS in fifth place (ahead of Westfield and Chatham) while seventh overall in math.
• In summary, BHPS test scores are ‘okay’ (not good, not great, but not bad either).
• However, it is the year-to-year decline of test scores in mathematics, science, and English Language Arts, and therefore a decline in rankings, that are of concern. Recent declines include:
  • Decrease of 10 places in Governor Livingston High School rankings from 2021-2022 to 2023-2024 (U.S. News and World Report).
  • Decrease of 23 places for BHPS as a whole from 2022-23 to 2023-24 (Niche).

Although this website has provided multiple other data points of rankings (example 1, example 2, example 3, example 4, example 5, example 6, example 7), this is one sample that shows that while BHPS test scores are good, they could be better, especially than a 68% student proficiency rating in math.

These rankings provide the context to why BHPS rankings are lower than some neighboring schools. The math from here is simple:

Questioning past/current BHPS practices = Working to improve math/ELA scores

Working to improve math/ELA scores = Improved test scores

Improved test scores = Improved school rankings

Improved school rankings = Better teacher recruitment/retention

Improved school rankings = Better home/property values

Improved school rankings = Stronger outcomes for students

For more, please see “Video: The BHPS Proficiency Problem Timeline in Two Minutes.”

NJ21st allows for confidential articles from non-administrators of local public entities whose careers would be affected because of their efforts in informing the public. NJ21st 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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