with a flag salute. >> To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands nation indivisibley and justice for all. In accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act, I wish to
announce that the New Jersey Open Public Meeting Law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meeting of bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon. Notices announcing the date, time, and place for this meeting were sent to all concerned individuals, associations,
and sent to Union C31 of public law 1975. Now for the role. Mr. Maha here. >> Miss Justice. >> Mr. Hanley >> here. >> Mr. Gunderson. >> Mr. Cho >> here. >> Vice President Kelly >> here. >> President Con >> here.
>> You have a quorum. >> A presentation of the 2025 NJGPA and ACESS test results. Good afternoon. I want to start by uh thanking the members of the board for accommodating this meeting. um it's not a regularly scheduled meeting and as I
described and explained we have a requirement to uh publicly present the outcomes of all standardized testing whether that's NJSLA NJGPA access for L's um and it used to be convenient because all scores would come back in the month of August so our October
meeting was typically and traditionally the meeting where we would have our assessment reports and we would do it all in one meeting things have changed the state is now returning scores at various times throughout the year we got our NJGPA and access scores in June. So
60 days out is just before our August scheduled meeting. So we had to call a special meeting. So we have that singular item for today. And I thank you all for accommodating your schedules over the summer to take care of this. And I introduce director of curriculum instruction, Heather Roco.
>> Thank you. So that set me up really nicely for my first few slides. So there we go. Um so we're just talking about two standardized tests today and we'll take you through here the um New Jersey GPA which is a graduation proficiency
assessment which is uh administered to grade 11 students. I'll take you through the subgroup reports in ELA and math and then we'll transition to the access testing, provide you an overview of what that test assesses skill-wise and then
the report on the district. So first is the New Jersey GPA. So as I said this is administered to all 11th grade students. It is aligned with grade 10 New Jersey student learning standards
and we are assessing mathematics and ELA proficiency. The required performance level is 725 is the cut score to be considered either graduation ready or not yet graduation ready which differs from the SLA assessment. The SLA
assessment gives us different levels from one to five. Um this is just one uh or the other. It is a graduation requirement to uh be graduation of course and the GPA is one way that students and it's the first
pathway for students who meet this expectation and requirement. Those students who aren't successful on the first administration which happens in March have an opportunity to take it again in October. will be administering it at the high school just for those students and they only take it again in
the area where they um still needed to mark that um proficiency standard in ELA or in math. If they aren't successful in October um they have another opportunity to utilize other standardized tests that
they whether it's the PCT, the SAT, the ACT. The state has a list of competency tests and cutoff scores for each of those. So they vary based on the test. Um if then they aren't able to meet it with
that second pathway, there is a third pathway which is called the portfolio appeal and we have a small cohort of students each year who do end up going through the portfolio appeal. That work happens at Summit High School. There are tasks and expectations that are set by
the state and the student works and gets um receives um uh teaching and learning with teachers kind of one-on-one to get support as they build that portfolio. The portfolio is then submitted um by the principal and the state accepts it
or does not. The scores come in with individual student reports. Those arrived in June and we sent those home to families both in hard copy as well as they're uploaded in Genesis. Um so parents can go and see them there. Um as well as there's a link
and this presentation will be available on the website within the next day or two where parents can click and look at resources that help explain what the scores mean. Okay, so these are the New Jersey GPA results from the spring of 2025. You see
at the bottom we have ELA um at 93.3% students showing as graduation ready on this assessment and in math 79.6%. We always compare our results to the state results. So you can just see the gray um bar there. That is the state
results. So as is traditional and something we're always proud of, um we do outpace the state rather significantly. But I mentioned that second pathway. So I just wanted to note that Mr. Maldi already has looked at PSAT scores um for
students in this now they'll be seniors next year um group to see who has satisfied the graduation requirement and so you'll see here in ELA we have 94% of students meeting in that JST pathway um
and 86% of students meeting in math with the PSAT scores there are more scores coming in so that we'll continue to monitor and assess for those students who still need to meet the standard. >> Okay, so this breaks down the subgroup reporting which is a requirement of the
state and we'll begin with the ELA report. Something to keep in mind this graduating or this class for 28 students who were assessed. So sometimes when I show when we talk about SLA reporting that larger because we're looking at a
group of students in the middle school etc. these subgroups, it's the 285 students. When you break it down even further into the programs or um in terms of race and ethnicity, groups can be really small. So, uh for the state, we
don't report out on subgroups that are smaller than 20 students, including looking at subgroups of 21 and 22 students. So, it's just something to keep in mind as you're looking through the data. So, the first report out um of a
subgroup is by gender. So, the females are in the maroon and the males are in that gray color. You can see they're graduation ready and not graduation ready. This kind of aligns with what we're seeing traditionally um nationally
I should say with PLA. Um, so it is something that we're always mindful of and looking particularly um at how we can better serve our male students uh in the ELA program. This is reporting out um ethnicity across Hispanic is the first column,
Asian is the second, white is the third, and multi-racial, which is two races or more um is the last. And then the last is um by program. These are our students who have IEPs,
504s or are economically disadvantaged. I should say too, and I meant to say this when I started this slide, just know students are represented can be represented in more than one group as well. Okay. And now I'll move to the math
report. So again, it'll move in the same order. So first is by gender. The second is by ethnicity or race and then the last is by program. Now I want to talk a little bit about what this data means for us. Um, and I
appreciate I've received several questions from the board and they've really helped us think through not only what we were typically going to do, which is really drill down into the data and see what we notice, but to kind of push even further into um some of the
differences of classes even. So, the class of 2023 and the class of 2020, excuse me, the administration of 2023. So those 11th graders in 2023, it's the same size class as the ones who took it in 2025. Um, so it makes an interesting
kind of data point to compare. So the math scores have taken a turn in terms of there are fewer students who are as graduation ready in this administration than there were in the group of 23. So that prompted us to go and look at um
what the cohort is like etc. So the first thing I want to say is that the trend of this cohort of students has tended to score it aligns with how they've scored in the past that math has presented as more of a struggle um for
this group um than perhaps the group that uh took the test in 23. Additionally, in this cohort, we have more students in the subgroups of some that are traditionally struggle with
standardized testing. Um, so the higher number of students in those subgroups of course have an impact than on the overall total. So that's something else that we've noticed and are being mindful of and taking a look at. We also spent some time looking at the students who were just below the cutoff score. So the
students who scored like the 717, 721 or the 724, what we found is that a third of the students who are not graduation ready missed it by two or three questions. Um
which is of course I'm sure frustrating. However, it shows how close we were. Um, so that also let us then, which we would have done anyway, but look at the district evidence statements. And that's a report that the state sends us to show us in what areas
it'll come back uh in what specific standards we might have fallen short or we needed to have more support of. So that prompted us to look even further into those students who fell into that group that was just not quite reaching
um the expectation and many of those students were in geometry, the course geometry in 11th grade. This is an area that the district prior to my time here had identified as an area of need that we needed to change the sequence so that
all the students by the end of 10th grade will have had geometry. So we did curriculum writing this summer where we collapsed what had prior been foundations of algebra and then algebra 1 which would have been a nth grade and tth grade course for students who traditionally struggle or receive more
support in math and we've made them now one course. So beginning with this freshman class, incoming freshman class, they will have one year of algebra and then move into geometry. So that by the time this group takes the assessment in um three years that they will have
completed geometry and be on their way well into algebra 2. So we do believe that that will help to address it. However, we have students in the meantime who are going into geometry this year as an 11th grader. So I've met with Dr. Molina and I've also um met
with Miss Grimmaldi and we've talked about ways to work with the geometry teachers and really dig into what the testing shows us about the skills that those students need to make sure that we've covered those standards and those skills by the time the assessment comes
around next March. Um so that's just an update on the work that we've done thus far um as we launch into the school year. Okay, I'm going to move forward into the WEDA access test.
So, the access test is only for ML students, multilingual learner students. It's administered K to 12 um and given annually for students who are um ML students. It does meet the US federal requirements of every student succeeds
act for monitoring and reporting ML student progress um and their language proficiency and it's anchored in English language development standards. So WEDA is an organization that puts out standards just like New Jersey state
puts out standards for math and ELA etc. So just know that that's where they come from but it's a larger organization. The test itself assesses four domains, listening, speaking, reading, and
writing. And those are called individual domains, which I'll um show you a slide here in a second. But then we also measure students with the domain called oral language, literacy, and comprehension. And then students receive an overall score when all of those
things are taken into account. So the required score to exit the program which is an indicator of exit not the um only indicator though is 4.5. Even after students exit the program they are monitored for two years. So we
continue to uh monitor their growth and their progress um to make sure that they're still meeting grade level standards. So this is just a breakdown of the individual domain scores. So listening of course how well you can listen and understand the speaking how well they
can verbally communicate in English. The reading focusing on comprehending text as well as identifying main ideas details etc within a text and then the writing how well they produce written English grammar vocabulary coherence and
organization in their written responses. So those are individual domain scores. The access in addition though combines those individual domain scores and gives composite scores. So when you think
about oral language, it's not only communicating speaking, it's also the listening part. So they put together 50% of one score of the listening score, 50% of the speaking score and um come up with an oral language score. And then you'll see that with literacy, half
reading, half writing. And then comprehension is half uh 70% reading and then 30% listening. So how well can you um comprehend what someone is saying to you um along with the reading of course then kind of gives a fuller picture of
the comprehension and then the overall score the they give more weight for reading and writing and then the listening and the speaking are 15% each. So it pulls from the same but they they um do the math differently to give the
composite scores. So that we have various performance levels. So there's entering and emerging is a one or a two. The developing is scored on a three or a four. And then the bridging and reteing is between a
five and a six. And again an indicator for um exit is a 4.5. Students also receive an individual student report. These are sent home to families for them to review and then they are uploaded into um Genesis as well. And
that same link for the parent resource of will take them to more information about to help them interpret what these scores mean. So this gives the breakdown of how students um scored on the access test. You'll see it goes across. The first
four are those individual domains that um I explained before and then the composite with the overall being at the end. So a very positive news is um so there were 185 students um who are in the program last year and 30% of them exited
the ML program which is really exciting. Um so that's a total of 56 students who now will move out of the ML program specifically but then will continue of course to be monitored for um the two years following their exit. Um, but that's a really great number and a testament to the hard work of the
educators. >> Thank you. You can I think we'll take questions. Sure. So, just for if anyone's watching, repeat your question. Um, the comparison between like districts, um, there's not
something that's put out that allows me to pull that data easily. It is something maybe we can look into as other districts are doing their testing report and we can go through. I have reached out and try and compare with people around us but to your point I probably need to be more aware of the
socio um economic and subgroups that are represented within the group. So that's something we can follow up with. >> Yeah. Mhm. >> Right. >> I did not pull that data. I haven't looked at that data, but I can definitely take a look at that. I
thought of that actually after the fact, but yeah. Yep. >> Mhm. >> Yep. >> Mhm. Yep. >> Yeah. So, >> yeah. So, that's one of the things I
actually was speaking with my colleague uh social services that number is similar to previous years. That subgroup the sample size is 24. In the past, it's been um 22 and 23. Um that's something
we're looking at and doing a deeper dive into. Part of that is class placement. They fall into that group of students who are in geometry and might not have gotten as far along or developed the proficiency that they need in order to
be successful. Um there are also other opportunities for those students who do and find success later in the third pathway. Um but that's something like right um Dr. Mclo and I have been talking about
>> economically disadvantaged students um was a big change and They're not reported out in the subgroup, but the ML student actually was a larger number than um previous, but they're included in the data, but not reported out individually
>> because they are under 20, but it is increased from the previous years. Yep. >> I haven't had the opportunity yet to do to have that conversation necessarily with that level of detail um in the summer. Um,
I'd be really interested to speak with some of the teachers who haven't been around of course in the summer and that's some of the work that Dr. Molina would do because it is something I want us to be mindful of. Is it the way that we're assessing? Have we changed? You know, there's a lot of things that could be considered and questions asked in order to help really identify those
areas. It's important for us to know if anything has changed. Yes. >> Correct. Yep. Yeah, >> absolutely. >> Sure. >> Thank you. I appreciate it.
>> Great. Thank you very much. See you again in October for the next presentation. >> Oh, I'm so sorry. Oh. Oh, no. It's not public comment yet. Thank you, Heather. Mr. Roco, very well done. >> Um, >> appreciate the questions and I think
moving forward since you're not at the deis and no microphones. Maybe we'll have the board if you recommend they come back up and ask questions with the microphones and then the presenter can stay here and then I can answer as well and because I could barely hear too. So, I guess we can I'll come back up.
This is to go to public comment. So, Public comment. Anyone wishing to speak shall first seek recognition. Please come to the microphone and state your name and address and a clear audible telephone record. Please direct all comments of board president and not an individual member. Please remember to
conduct yourself with decorum and respect when speaking and addressing the board. Unless additional time is granted by the board president, please be respectful. Keep your focus three minutes or less. In addition, please note this portion of the meeting is for public comment and not meant to be back and forth. Board members of administration will not respond to
questions or comments at this time. However, information will be provided by the appropriate individual as soon as possible. Questions asked at this meeting will be answered in two ways. One, publicly at the next board meeting and two, by the superintendent or designate directly to the person who asked the question.
>> Uh, thank you. Just one question. We Rick sort of touched on it, but a cohort that is economically disadvantaged. I would just be curious how the plan is going to be for those children to improve if there's you know if there's taking it by teacher by student or there's actually a plan because I would
imagine that the the larger percentage would be struggling in math. I think that's what I saw. Um but is there a specific plan? You know is it is it because maybe those children don't have tutors? I have no idea. But you know how do we how do we fix that? I guess would be my question to the board.
Miss Roco, >> Miss Roco, feel free to add to that, but my answer is, you know, we're identifying even at lower levels certain pathways starting even sixth grade um for students to either get a higher enrichment experience or more support. So leveling classes, which math is one
of those skills and courses that gets leveled um to help do that. Okay. So by the time they get to 11th grade, they're getting the support at this point. Now that we've identified that they're still testing in that range, um it's going to be going through the pathways and working with them individually, diagnosing a bigger picture of this
subgroup that we know struggles trends with national trends here and some elsewhere. We have to develop layered courses and provide them some of that support and I would suspect the the lack of access to tutoring as well as a major contributor to that. But our teachers do give extra help, spend extra time with
students who need it. So, um, it's not a simple calculation to fix it, but you throw everything we can at it and hopefully improve an individual level. Anything to add, Miss Rock? >> Seeing no more public comments for items on the agenda, are there any public
comments on items not on the agenda? Seeing none, I think we can close public comments. >> Please, >> is there a motion? Sorry. >> All those in favor? >> Any opposed? Motion carries.
>> So that leads us to adjournment. So is there a motion to adjurnn? So move. >> Second. Any discussion? All those in favor? >> Any opposed? Any motion carries? We 3:31. Thank you.