Berkeley Heights has some strengths, some weaknesses; moved forward to middle-of-pack with neighboring districts

NJ.com recently published an article on the release of spring 2024 New Jersey State Learning Assessment (NJSLA) results.

According to the article, math and ELA scores ranged from 650 to 850, with a score of 750, equating to students meeting grade level expectations and a score of 790 to exceed them. Science scores ranged from 100 to 300 with a score of 200 to be proficient and 243 for advanced proficiency. The full data table can be found here.

Instead of comparing to state averages, which are weighed down by very large and urban districts, BHCW compares Berkeley Heights Public Schools (BHPS) to neighboring, comparable districts in metrics such as median household income, town demographics, and enrollment.

Note:  The below represents overall AVERAGES which appear promising for Berkeley Heights, however we will get a fuller picture once we understand percentages on Proficiency rates.

Summary of ELA Grade 3-5: BHPS ranks below, but not too far below, the other six-districts between students at Mountain Park and Hughes.

Summary of ELA Grade 6-8: BHPS scores in the middle-of-the-pack with students at Columbia Middle School.

Summary of ELA Grade 9: BHPS scores in 2nd place of the seven districts with students at Governor Livingston High School. This is fantastic news!

Summary of Grade 3-5 Math: Berkeley Heights is in the bottom half of the group but from 2nd to 7th place, the scores are very tight. Overall a win for math at Mountain Park and Hughes.

Summary of Math Grade 6-8: Great scores at Columbia Middle School! However, there is a catch: Since BHPS did not offer Math 8 (Pre-Algebra) for eighth graders this school year, all eighth graders were required to take Algebra 1. This is why you will see in the next chart that Algebra 1 scores are lower than other districts because eighth graders who may not be ready for Algebra 1 were required to take Algebra 1 one-year before students in other districts (without the full Pre-Algebra knowledge). The administration and BOE are working towards reinstituting Math 8 for a future school year.

Summary of Algebra 1: Again, the reason why Algebra 1 dips is because there are dozens of eighth grade students in Algebra 1 not-yet ready and deserve to have the option to take Math 8 (Pre-Algebra) in eighth grade. BHPS always offered this option up until the past few school years. There are students who are ready to take Algebra 1 in Grade 7 and Grade 8, but a number of students may not be ready to take Algebra 1 until Grade 9. This is currently being explored at BHPS.

Summary of Geometry: One goal for BHPS should be to ensure that all students are ready to take Geometry as students need to be placed into Geometry, similar to enrollment in an honors English class. For example, ensuring a strong placement test or two between all Grade 6 math classes can track if a student is ready for Algebra 1 in Grade 7 and therefore Geometry in Grade 8, or not. Same idea with Grade 7 math deciding whether a student is ready for Algebra 1 in Grade 8 or not (by reinstating Math 8, as mentioned above), which would make the difference between taking Geometry in Grade 9 or Grade 10. Geometry can be taken in eighth grade, ninth grade, or tenth grade and should remain that way. However, we have to watch student placement.

Summary of Science: Other than Millburn, BHPS is close to all other districts as the scores are close. Other than the Director of STEM and a Governor Livingston High School Assistant Principal with a science background, hopefully incoming Superintendent Dr. Kim Feltre, who has experience as a science supervisor in Hillsborough, can help support the BHPS science department.

Summary of all data: BHPS “meets grade level expectations” in all ELA and math areas with the exception of being “not proficient” in science. BHPS scores rank around 5th place overall out of the seven districts. The point of the scores here is that they are all tight with neighboring districts. While BHPS has strengths in ELA at the middle school and high school, there is work to be done with Algebra 1, Geometry, and science.

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