Schools making the grade
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
Cherry Hill Sun
2/29/2008
Cherry Hill School District Superintendent David Campbell said he was pleased with the results of the state Department of Education’s 2007 School Report Cards.
New Jersey School Report Cards are released yearly by the Department of Education and showcase school and district specific information regarding Adequate Yearly Progress scores, highly qualified teachers, attendance and dropout data, and assessment data.
Campbell said he and several employees in the district, including Public Information Officer Susan Bastnagel, waded through the state assessment data upon its release and were pleased with how the district students and faculty performed.
The assessment data provided by the state is a valuable tool for the district when shaping curriculum and programs, Campbell said.
“Assessment data provides an important lens through which we look at curriculum, programs and individual student performance,” he said.
“We use testing data to identify students for intervention programs and to plan professional development. We also look at student performance on state assessments to improve and revise curriculum.”
The district is able to identify at-risk students after reviewing the assessment data, Campbell said. The district provides appropriate interventions, such as after-school math tutoring or double periods of language arts, depending on a student’s specific needs.
Cherry Hill students surpassed both the state averages and the averages of schools in Cherry Hill’s District Factor Group of “GH,” Campbell said.
Furthermore, as a district, mathematics scores met or exceeded District Factor Group “I” averages.
“I” districts are the richest district’s in the state.
For example, 35.7 percent of Cherry Hill high school students scored in the advanced proficient category in the High School Proficiency Assessment test for mathematics.
Only 29.7 percents of students in the “GH” District Factor Group scored in the advanced proficient category for mathematics.
“There is much to be proud of in our state report cards, from assessment results to growing participation rates in Advanced Placement classes to our high graduation rates and the post-secondary plans of our graduates,” Campbell said. “We’re especially proud of the progress we have made in narrowing the achievements gaps for minority and special education students in our district, particularly at the elementary level.”
Cherry Hill high school students averaged scores of 544.5 for mathematics, 524.5 for verbal and 524 for verbal Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT), well above state and district factor group averages.
To keep SAT averages up in the district, Campbell said the district requires, and pays for, all sophomores and juniors in the district to take the PSAT test.
Also, of the 1,198 high school students in the district taking advanced placement courses, 808 students received a score of three, four or five on their final advanced placement tests. This was also above the state average.
“We are working with representatives of the College Board to look at PSAT results, identify trends and develop long-range strategies for improvement,” he said. “Of course, we are always looking for areas of improvement and growth, both for our students and specific areas of curriculum.”
The district considers the data from the state report cards extremely valuable, Campbell said, but no more valuable than data the district receives from other programs.
“The state report cards provide a tremendous amount of data. But also important, though less easily collected and quantified, are general classroom assessments, projects, oral presentations and participation in classroom discussion, participation in the arts, community service, extracurricular activities and more.
“All of these elements contribute to a preeminent education,” Campbell said.
For a complete listing of the district’s performance in the state report cards, please visit the department of education Web site at education.state.nj.us.student and faculty performance
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