The Evesham Township School District shared 2023-’24 student testing results at a board of education meeting last month.
The New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) are statewide assessments that determine students’ progress toward the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in English Language Arts (ELA), math and science.
Danielle Magulick, director of curriculum and instruction for the district, explained the reason for the annual presentation.
“There’s a variety of assessments that (the district is) always looking at. There are certain requirements through ESEA,” she said, referring to federal funding from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. ” (The district) is required by the state to report out on standardized testing, so that’s the state assessment.”
The district assessment focuses on year-by-year student growth.
“We want to make sure that no matter whether (a student is) below, on or above level that we are teaching and challenging them throughout the course of their time here with us,” Magulick noted.
An example is the district’s use of benchmark assessments, given to students in the fall and spring to determine testing improvements. The district also utilizes its own standardized tests in addition to the NJSLA.
“There’s an aptitude assessment that we give as well, so that we can look at if there’s a disconnect between aptitude as well as achievement,” Magulick pointed out. “Also accounted for in assessing student growth is rubrics, checklists, portfolios, anecdotal record, quizzes and tests …”
The ESEA performance report noted that Reading Recovery served 93 of he lowest-achieving first graders in the district’s six elementary schools. And 60.22% of those students made accelerated progress; the national average is 41.6%.
Fifty-eight percent of students were tested for the first time in ACCESS, a group of assessments used in New Jersey to measure English language proficiency. ACCESS measures students in four areas: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Ninety-four percent of students who took its tests in the previous year increased their proficiency level.
The district also provides summer support programs for students that include a literacy and math support program; it had 204 students in eight sessions last year. Tier III encompasses the district’s gifted and talented program of 109 students.
As part of the process, the collected test data is reviewed by schools, teachers, and the district to set goals for grade levels, certain schools and the district as a whole. That is followed by professional development and curriculum writing, planning and implementation.
Some of the district’s focus is to target strategic differentiation to meeting specific student needs, to increase self and formative assessment to inform instruction, to intentionally select technology tools that authentically support learning, and to reduce scaffolding where it’s deemed appropriate so teaching can be responsive to what students are demonstrating independently.
The full detailed presentation for the state of the schools – including the complete testing score data – is available on the district website under the October board meeting agenda.
