Report card results in
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
2/26/2010

The results of the 2008-09 Department of Education report cards for Cherry Hill were favorable and showed improvement in several areas, according to district representatives. The annual New Jersey Report Card study is a state-mandated program that districts have been utilizing since 1995. The department presents 35 different fields of information for each school and compares the results to district factor groups and state averages.

Several categories are considered within the study, including district finances, student performance indicators, school environment, and the students themselves, according to department representatives.

Cherry Hill High School East and West both performed very well in their SAT scores, Public Information Officer Susan Bastnagel said. East had the second-highest average in the tri-county area and West had the sixth-highest, she said, and both schools improved from their 2007-08 scores.

East’s average math, verbal, and essay scores rose to 588, 560, and 570, respectively. All three scores were higher than the 2007-08 averages. For West, its math, verbal, and essay scores rose to an average of 536, 515, and 513.

Both schools also outperformed the average SAT results for “GH” district factor groups. District factor groups compare student performance on statewide assessments across demographically similar school districts.

“The success at the high school level reflects the commitment to our district goals and the work that our teachers and educational leaders have done to advance those goals. It reflects the rigor of our curriculum, collaboration, professional development, and more,” Bastnagel said in a written statement.

Participation in the SAT tests did decrease, Bastnagel said, which the district will monitor in the future. Economic conditions, increased participation in the ACT tests, and an increase in students enrolling in two-year colleges – which don’t require the SAT – were leading factors in the decrease, she said.

Students at the elementary level performed well, she said, but mathematics scores for the NJASK 3 and 4 tests did decrease this year. The state raised the proficiency scores for mathematics this year, she said, which is a factor as to why the scores decreased. Still, the district’s elementary and middle school scores compared nicely to the averages of other “GH” districts, she said.

While results culled from the state tests are important, Bastnagel said, it’s important to remember that comparing results on a year-to-year basis can be misleading.

“Still, the year-to-year comparisons of assessment results can be misleading because each year’s results reflect a different group of students.

“The fluctuation can be particularly significant when the number of students taking the test is small,” she said. “The fifth grades at each of our 12 elementary schools are small compared to the 11th grades at our two high schools.

“When we look at the district as a whole, our NJASK 5 results were stable and above the average of districts in our District Factor Group.”

However, when looking at all of the district-wide scores, Bastnagel said Cherry Hill was on the same level as other “GH” districts and well above the state averages.

To see the complete district results for the report cards, please visit the state’s Department of Education Web site at education.state.nj.us.