Pupils' performance helps district evaluate its efforts

JACKSON — Audience members at a recent meeting of the Jackson Board of Education heard the annual State of the Schools report presented by school district administrators.

Board President Barbara Fiero said, "The information presented this evening should give us confidence as to how we are working to identify and address our students' needs. We need to prepare students for the world they are going to encounter when they leave us and we need to do that by making sound, responsible and data-driven decisions."

Jackson Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella noted that the federal No Child Left Behind Act requires all students to reach proficiency levels in all areas tested by 2014.

"All teachers must be highly qualified according to the new federal standards," said Gialanella. "The Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) benchmark establishes levels of proficiency for each given year, with yearly increases. Every student must be proficient (in various school subjects) by 2014 and not meeting the AYP, or what is called 'safe harbor,' can result in sanctions at varying levels."

Gialanella explained safe harbor by saying, "If a subgroup (of the overall group of students being tested) does not meet the AYP for a given year, but does increase 10 percent from the previous year, it has reached safe harbor and has met the requirement for that year."

Subgroups of the total school population include students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, and students who are economically disadvantaged.

Deputy Superintendent LuAnne Meinders said the goal of the State of the Schools presentation is to help residents understand what the district is doing to prepare students for real life.

"We are working collaboratively to evaluate our district's growth, program efficiency and to align our curriculum to the ever-changing Department of Education standards, said Meinders. "Among the things our staff will be learning from this are what does this data tell us, in what directions does it lead, and how does it help to make better educators."

Meinders said the indicators of instructional effectiveness include standardized tests, district assessments, and anecdotal/ descriptive information.

Information presented during the meeting showed that Jackson Liberty High School reached AYP/Safe Harbor goals; Jackson Memorial High School had two subgroups (out of 20) below AYP; and the Goetz Middle School and the McAuliffe Middle School had one subgroup (out of 20) below AYP.

Officials said the status of elementary schools has not been released by the New Jersey Department of Education.

Looking at SAT scores, Jackson Liberty High School had 204 students tested, which resulted in a school mean score of 471 for verbal and 492 for math.

Jackson Memorial High School had 267 students tested, which resulted in a school mean score of 478 for verbal and 507 for math.

The New Jersey mean score for verbal was 496 and the state mean score for math was 513.

The national mean score for verbal was 501 and the national mean score for math was 515.

The results of this year's test scores leave educators with several questions to ponder: what method of assessment should be used; is there a pattern among students who did not meet the projected growth; what additional information is needed to guide instructional action; what resources and interventions are effective with various subgroups; and is more professional development needed.

According to information provided at the meeting, during 2008-09 Jackson Liberty and Jackson Memorial graduates were offered $12.4 million in scholarships and grants. There were three National Merit Scholars and 32 Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars.

Bloustein was a former president of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.