The state of New Jersey publishes report cards for individual schools, but not for districts as a whole. Narratives about districts are available, but bias is possible because it is authored by a leader in the district.
The three schools I will compare are Copper Hill, Barely Sheaf and Robert Hunter. Of the three schools, Copper Hill is the most populated with 631students (about 200 more than the latter two). All three schools are in the Flemington school district, in the county of Hunterdon. Flemington is an area just north of where I currently teach with a much higher population. Areas of Flemington are more affluent than others, but over all the district is financially very stable.
Each of the three schools made their yearly AYP and the staff in each school has a similar education profile. Attendance rates in each school are close to 100%, a possible result of attendance policy, expectations and parent perspective to education.The majority of staff members have a bachelors degree, and the remaining 40% with a masters.Two of the three schools just reached the Language Arts AYP proficient goal of 59%, and Barley Sheaf shows 57% student proficiency. In contrast, in the area of Mathmatics all three schools demonstrated excellence in math with over 50% of the population testing advanced proficient; this level of percentage is a pattern in the last three years shown. Possible contributions to this could be the emphasis of time and intensity placed in this subject area by the district as well as priority given to testing preparation.
Each school’s amount of instructional time is fifteen to twenty minutes below the state average; a most likely result of contract negotiations and district agreements for bussing, etc.. Class sizes fall below the state average, a considerable positive from any perspective. For a parent who sees importance in technology integration into instruction an area of concern would be that Flemington shows little emphasis with this, as the computer to student ratio is double of the state average.
Between all three elementary schools there is about a three percent difference in the number of third graders who tested proficient in Language Arts for the 2009-2010 school year. Students showed strong in Language Arts with about 50% of the grade-level population placing advanced proficient.
Over fifty percent of fourth graders in each district displayed advanced proficient skills in Mathmatics. The same holds true for student achievement in Language Arts and Science. In particular, 75% of fourth graders at Barely Sheaf tested advanced proficient in science. The success in both grades could be contributed to the importance placed on test preparation, the high attendance rate, as well as the close monitoring of student ability, strengths and weaknesses so that instruction time can be devoted to particular student need.
As a parent coming into the district I would see these numbers as promising. With such a high student population placing in Advanced Proficient I would inquire as to the amount and type of emphasis placed on testing. In addition I would want to know more about the high student and faculty to administrator ratio as well as the higher student to teacher ratio at Copper Hill. The high attendance rate would be a very positive attribute, as it would indicate that the students like their school environment.
As an educator I would have the same thoughts as the parent with some other observations. I would begin a conversation about the professional development provide to new and existing teacher to maintain such high test scores. Considering a low percentage of the staff as a masters, inquiry as to the school board's and leadership's support of continued studies would be important. In an interview environment I would want to know more about emphasis on 21st century skills and technology integration on the elementary level, seeing that the student to computer ratio is surprisingly low for a larger and reputable district that spends two hundred dollars more per pupil than the state average.
Lastly, as a school board member, I would take notice of the districts spending. Teacher salary and spending per pupil is above state average. I would compare our spending to other districts of the same size and examine their spending patterns to see if money could be better delegated and/or negotiated in the future. As a board member I would be proud of the administrative and teaching staff for producing such high percentages of advanced proficient students in all subject areas and support the continuation of a successful program while encouraging it to develop.
Sources:
Copper Hill Elementary School Report Card 2010-2011 Retrieved June 9, 2011 http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc10/dataselect.php?c=19;d=1510;s=033;lt=CD;st=CD&datasection=all
Barley Sheaf Elementary School Report Card 2010-2011 Retrieved June 9, 2011 http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc10/dataselect.php?c=19;d=1510;s=030;lt=CD;st=CD&datasection=all
Robert Hunter Elementary School Report Card 2010-2011 Retrieved June 9, 2011 http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc10/dataselect.php c=19;d=1510;s=050;lt=CD;st=CD&datasection=all
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