Chief academic officer Keith Brook (middle) presents his results along with curriculum supervisor Cheryl Catts.
Two representatives of the Clearview Regional School District revealed district results from the NJSLA and NJGPA tests – as well as the number of AP scholars from the last school year – during a board of ed meeting on Oct. 16.
The NJSLA (New Jersey Student Learning Assessment) focuses on math and ELA classes from grades seven through 10; science from grades eight and 11; and algebra I, geometry and algebra II in ninth-grade courses. A few hundred students were tested.
While exact scores were witheld, grade nine ELA had a score that was 14.9% higher than the state average for students who met and exceeded expectations, levels four and five on a scale of five. Grade eight was 8.9% higher than the state average, while grade seven was 0.8% lower.
“Something to point out here is that seventh graders come in with a lot of different experiences,” said the district’s chief academic officer, Keith Brook, “varying exposures to curriculum. We look at this as sort of our kickoff point here for Clearview Regional.”
Algebra II score averages were 19.8% higher than the state’s average. Geometry class averages at both the middle- and high-school level were higher than the state average, 38% higher for the former and 22.6% for the latter. Algebra I at the middle school had a higher average of 50.5%, but the high school had a lower average, at 8.7%.
Both math eight and advanced math eight had scores that were 12.7% above the state average, while math seven and advanced math seven were both 2.4% below the state average.
“We’re so proud of that growth,” curriculum supervisor Cheryl Catts noted of the middle-school algebra and geometry scores. “That’s huge growth. Yes, they’re the top-tier students going in there, but that is showing that the route we’re giving them is two grades ahead of where they’re at.
“We’re proud that they’re meeting that.”
The science portions of the test, which looked at eighth- and 11th-grade science, were both below the state average at 2% for the former and 1% for the latter.
The NJGPA (New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment) measures if a student in the 11th grade – sometimes 12th, if necessary – is ready to graduate based on an ELA and math assessment. Clearview had 341 students who were given the test.
In the ELA portion, the district had 95.3% of the participating students set as “graduation ready,” a 0.1% increase from the 2023-’24 school year that was 14.6% higher than the state average. The math portion deemed 74.8% of students “graduation ready,” a 3% increase from the same year and 16.8% above the state average.
“I’ve been in the district 21 years,” Brook noted. “I know we haven’t been doing the NJGPA for 21 years, but we’ve never had a Clearview student not pass due to state testing. That goes back as far as I can recollect.”
The Clearview class of 2025 had 95 students named AP scholars, an increase from 68 among last year’s graduates. An AP scholar designation means a student has earned a score of three or more on three or more AP exams.
While the positives were celebrated, Catts did point out a few of the reasons why the seventh-grade scores were below the state average, including student adjustments to a middle-school setting.
“They’re prepared with skills, yes,” she acknowledged. “But in middle school, they’re a lot more independent. It’s changing all the classes all over a big building. There’s a lot of things in getting that adjustment. It might be a little bit more independent on them in getting their homework and organizational skills.
“It’s a combination of things,” Catts added. “It’s the first time they might have to study differently.”
Despite the issues, Catts confirmed the students were ready and that middle school is ultimately a “growing experience.”
The school board voted unanimously to approve the assessment results.
