WW-P Students improved their performance across the board in 2008-’09 on annual tests measuring proficiency in language arts and math. The levels of advanced proficiency in both areas increased in nearly every grade level.
That’s according to the school report cards released by the state Department of Education this month.
For high school students, performance is measured by the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). According to the report card data, the number of high school students who tested advanced in language arts literacy increased from 24.6 percent in the 2007-’08 school year to 27.5 percent in the 2008-’09 year.
This is slightly below the percentage of students in similar districts who tested at advanced proficiency — measured in the District Factor Group category on the report cards — which was 29.6 percent. Still, the advanced proficiency percentage was much higher than the 13.6 state average. As for the percentage of students who tested proficient, that average was 66.2 percent, with 6.3 percent of students testing as partially proficient.
In mathematics, WW-P students are more advanced than many of their peers. In 2007-’08, 57.1 percent of the high school students at WW-P were advanced. This past year, the percentage increased to 62.8 percent, with 29.6 percent testing as proficient and 7.6 testing as partially proficient. In similar districts in the District Factor Group, 54.2 percent of students were found to be advanced in math.
Data also showed that at High School South, 46.6 percent of students participated in Advanced Placement courses, compared with the state average of 19 percent. At North, 44.3 percent of students participated in Advanced Placement courses. There were no students expelled in the district’s high schools in 2008-’09.
On the SATs, students at North averaged a 634 in mathematics, 587 in verbal, and 595 on the essay portion of the test — all of which are increases over the previous year. At South, students averaged a 631 in math, a 600 in verbal, and 604 on the essay writing — also all increases over the previous year.
Both schools had higher average scores than the District Factor Group, which averaged 608 in mathematics, 580 in verbal, and 587 in essay.
At the middle school level, sixth graders recorded a more dramatic increase in advanced proficiency in language arts, jumping from 6.5 percent advanced the year before to 16.6 percent advanced in 2008-’09, which puts them right on par with similar districts, where 16.7 percent of students tested advanced in language arts.
The jump also reflected a decrease in the percentage of students who tested as partially proficient in language arts during the 2007-’08 year, which was 17.4 percent. That number has decreased to 9.3 percent, with 74.1 percent of students testing proficient.
In math, the percentage of advanced students rose from 47.8 to 52.6 percent, while 40.6 percent were proficient, and 6.8 percent were partially proficient.
For seventh graders, advanced proficiency in language arts increased from 45.2 to 46 percent, while advanced proficiency in math increased from 51.8 to 55.4 percent. In both cases, WW-P’s seventh graders fared better than similar districts.
In the eighth grade, the percentage of advanced proficiency, according to the NJASK8 test, dropped from 36.2 to 35.3 percent from 2007-’08 to 2008-’09, but still remained above the average of 28.1 advanced proficiency in similar districts. In math, 61.1 percent of students tested advanced, an increase over the prior year’s percentage of 59.9 percent and more than the 54.7 percent of students in similar districts who tested advanced.
In science, there was a decrease in advanced proficiency, from 68.7 percent the year before to 62.2 percent in 2008-’09, but the district still remained above the average in similar districts, which was 57.4. About 36 percent of eighth graders tested proficient, and 4.6 tested partially proficient in science.
At the elementary level, WW-P students also scored better than similar districts.
At the fifth grade level, 26.2 percent of students were advanced in language arts (higher than the 14.6 percent who were advanced in district factor groups), and 58 percent were advanced in math (higher than the 56.9 percent advanced in similar districts). About 61 percent of WW-P fifth graders are proficient in language arts, and 32.4 percent are proficient in math.
In the fourth grade, 19.5 percent of students were advanced in language arts, and 52 percent were advanced in math, higher than the 16.3 and 49.5 averages, respectively, in similar districts. In language arts, 63.8 percent were proficient, and in math, 36 percent were proficient. In science, 27.3 percent of fourth graders were proficient, while 71.5 percent were advanced — higher than the 63.3 average in similar districts.
At the third grade level — the earliest grade level for which an NJASK test is given — 21 percent of students tested advanced in language arts (above the 14 percent in similar districts), while 65.2 percent tested advanced in math (above 53.6 percent in similar districts). About 70 percent of third graders were proficient in language arts, and about 29 percent were proficient in math.
In addition to proficiency levels, the school report cards also measure demographic data, including the district’s spending, which went up for WW-P this year.
WW-P’s per pupil costs rose from $13,503 in 2007-’08 to $14,687 in 2008-’09. But the district’s “total comparative costs per pupil” saw a more modest increase, from $11,609 in 2007-’08 to $12,788 in 2008-’09, still below the state average of $13,601. The comparative cost per pupil figure represents comparisons with districts of similar budget type.
Larry Shanok, assistant superintendent for finance, pointed to the “continuing improvement we’re seeing here, especially since we’ve been squeezing the budget.”
The district narrative accompanying the report card lauds WW-P’s diversity. “The district reaches out to meet the needs of our many-faceted school community. Diversity is a key factor in the area,” the narrative states. “Students represent all major racial and cultural groups (40 percent White, 49 percent Asian, 6 percent African American, 5 percent Hispanic). Students speak 33 languages.
“In order to fulfill the needs of our multicultural communities, we have made every effort to create an awareness of the many ethnic and cultural distinctions represented here. Children are taught the traditions and mores not only of their background but also those of their classmates who come from all corners of the world.”
