Schools get ‘A’ for effort, report cards show
Faye Murman/Courier-Post
By BARBARA S. ROTHSCHILD
Courier-Post Staff
You don't have to spend a fortune to achieve excellence in education.
Figures released by the state Department of Education Tuesday in its annual school Report Card show that the highest-performing districts in the tri-county area often spend less per pupil than the state average for similar districts.
"The most important factor is the teacher in the classroom. That's what brings it home. We have no control over the money we get," said Joe Meloche, principal at Cherry Hill High School West.
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How much a district spends on educating its students, along with standardized test scores, are among the information found on the annual New Jersey School Report Card. Required under a 1995 state law, it serves as a tool by which public school districts are meant to be kept accountable and transparent. The Report Card presents information for every public school on environment, students, student performance indicators, staff, and district finances.
The Report Card also provides comparison data to see how each school stacks up against others within its district and in its district factor group -- a socioeconomic ranking assigned to districts based on wealth and poverty in their communities -- and also how it ranks compared to statewide figures.
In Cherry Hill, the average cost per pupil for the 2008-09 school year -- the period covered by the latest Report Card -- was $12,914, 5 percent below the average of $13,601 for similar school districts.
Eastern Regional High School District, which serves students in Voorhees, Berlin Borough and Gibbsboro, spent $13,221 per student, 3.6 percent below the average of similar districts. Haddonfield spent $12,273 per student, nearly 10 percent below that average.
In Burlington County, Moorestown spent $12,855 per student last year, 5.5 percent below the $13,601 average. In Gloucester County, the Woodbury School District spent $12,516 per student, 8 percent below that same average.
All these districts registered significant upward trends in student performance, despite downward blips here and there. For districts that are already high performers, the figures show an emphasis on accomplishing even higher goals.
Perhaps more significant for these school districts, improvement is occurring at the high school level. Districts often focus on the elementary grades and on middle school, where years ago the standardized test for eighth-graders was known as the Early Warning Test because it flagged students at risk for failing high school.
But in schools such as Cherry Hill West, a Title I school that serves an ethnically diverse student body, concerted efforts to get students to meet standards and then raise the bar are paying off.
From 2007-08 to 2008-09, the school increased its scores on the High School Proficiency Assessment in both math and language arts, given to 11th-graders.
In math, 4 percent fewer students failed last year, with increases of about 2 percent in students graded "proficient" and 2 percent in students with high scores ranked "advanced proficient."
In language arts, 3 percent fewer students failed, and there were increases in both the percentage of students who were graded "proficient" and those deemed "advanced proficient."
Cherry Hill West provides a good example because percentages can become skewed when one year's cohort group is substantially smaller or larger than the previous year's. At Cherry Hill West, the number of students tested fluctuated by just one from year to year.
Cherry Hill West also registered gains in SAT scores -- an increase of 26 total points from 2007-08 to 2008-09. SAT scores are from 12th-graders, based on the final time each senior took the test prior to a March 31 cut-off.
Common language
Meloche said growth in performance is grounded in a common language cultivated among the teaching and administrative staff.
"How we measure achievement is translated into common assessments, and we focus on how to incorporate the rubrics into all different classes and programs," Meloche said.
"We've concentrated on professional development and partnered with our sister school, Cherry Hill East, to determine where it found success with its scores. We've drawn on our Title I resources, bringing in the Penn Literacy Network (a professional development/mentoring/curriculum enhancement program based at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education)," he said.
Cherry Hill West has also implemented AVID -- Advancement Via Individual Determination, a college-advancement program aimed at "average" students who sometimes fall through the cracks. "All of our kids have benefited from this program because we trained our entire staff in it, not just those teaching AVID students," Meloche said.
Meloche said the school has streamlined where it focuses its efforts, so it knows what areas to work hardest on based on assessment data, information gleaned at cross-content faculty meetings and also from walkthroughs by administrators who visit classrooms on a consistent basis. At-risk students are placed in HSPA prep classes -- double periods of math and language arts -- and SAT prep courses are available as electives.
Tony Trongone, Cherry Hill's supervisor of curriculum and development, touted the Carnegie Learning Program in algebra and geometry, introduced to high school freshmen and sophomores five years ago.
"It lets kids learn at the developmental rate they are capable of," he said. In 11th grade, an integrated math program works on a similar principle.
In Haddon Township, Superintendent Mark Raivetz emphasized that the standardized test scores do not paint the whole picture of achievement. "The data we have to make our own assessments is far richer and deeper than the Report Card," he said.
A much larger cohort of 11th-graders -- 177 -- took the HSPA in 2009 than in 2008, when 140 students were in the junior class. That could help account for downward blips in some of the scoring -- a lesser percentage of students reached advanced proficiency, although a greater percentage passed the language arts portion. What it means in real numbers is that one more student was ranked advanced proficient in language arts in 2009 than in 2008, and two more students were ranked advanced proficient in math in 2009 than in 2008.
"The whole child'
Haddonfield Superintendent Alan Fegley agreed with Raivetz.
"Education is not just based on standardized test scores. It's really about developing the whole child," he said.
Haddonfield Memorial High boasted last year's top SAT scores in the region, with an average of 1745, up 17 points from 2008. Fegley isn't worried about slight downward blips in HSPA scores between those two years, noting that a 2 percentage point decrease from one cohort to the next can amount to missing one more test question.
"When you get to the high school level, it really boils down to having students think critically. We focus on helping students think as historians, writers and mathematicians. That is what's making the big difference," Fegley said.
Haddonfield is the only district in the tri-county area classified in the J district factor group -- the highest socioeconomic rating possible. Because it receives minimum state aid and is dependent on taxpayers to fund 96 percent of its costs, Fegley said there is even more of a reason to analyze and review its educational programs. He noted that Haddonfield's cost-per-pupil average, $12,273, is not only nearly 10 percent below the state average, but also lower than what many districts in lower district factor groups spend.
"We've been looking at educational costs very carefully and make tough decisions every year. We have very good performance within our student body and teach more effectively at a lesser cost," he said.
At Eastern Regional High School, Superintendent Harold Melleby said the district has a responsibility to the community to show money is well-spent. Its cost-per-pupil spending, $13,221, is nearly 4 percent below the statewide average for districts with similar budgets.
"Our goal is upward academic mobility for all students. We encourage them to take higher-level courses, monitoring them closely and promoting upward," Melleby said.
Eastern encourages students to take Advanced Placement courses -- the school offers about 20 now -- and then take the AP tests given in May. "As an incentive, they don't have to take the course final if they take the AP test," Melleby said, adding that there are sliding-scale funds available to help students take the tests, which cost upwards of $80 each.
Eastern's gains in HSPA scores from 2008 to 2009 show a slow but steady increase -- about 2 percent in students attaining the advanced proficient level in both math and language arts.
Melleby cited a number of strategies the district employs, including intervention and support programs in the summer and after school. There is an 11th-grade after-school program that runs prior to the HSPA with one-on-one or small-group instruction, and double periods of math or English for at-risk students.
New this year is professional development through the Penn Literacy Network, which Melleby expects to bring even more language arts success in the classroom and in testing.
An active role
In the Lenape Regional High School District, Assistant Superintendent Carol Birnbohm linked the active role taken by principals at Lenape, Cherokee, Shawnee and Seneca high schools to HSPA performance.
"They've been coming up with creative ways to spark enthusiasm," she noted, such as songs and other "HSPA Week" activities. All four schools improved HSPA scores from 2008 to 2009 -- and, in most instances, registered higher numbers of advanced proficient students.
"We recognize we are a high-achieving district, but we are always looking at areas where we can improve," Birnbohm said.
Birnbohm said HSPA-type questions are infused into Lenape's math and language arts curriculum. The district spends Title I funds on a summer program for students who need help in preparing for the test. It also has two e-boards full of practice problems for all clusters of the HSPA, accessible to students, parents and teachers.
The district also administers an assessment, known as the S-test, to freshmen and sophomores during the same week as juniors take the HSPA. "It gives a good indication of any weaknesses and allows time to remediate students in the summer program," Birnbohm said.
Although Lenape's cost-per-pupil average, $13,881, is 1 percent higher than the statewide average of $13,710, Business Administrator Jim Hager said the 350-square-mile district's high transportation costs are the reason. He noted that the district's cost per pupil is lower than the median for similar districts, which is $14,224.
Across the region, officials in high-achieving districts point to many of the same things -- professional development, cutting-edge programs, close monitoring of students, community investment among them -- resulting in good state report cards.
Back at Cherry Hill West, where 98 percent of the senior class graduated last year -- the state average is 93 percent -- Meloche said students are tracked all the way back to elementary school and given individualized instruction. He believes it's that kind of attention, not money, that pays the highest dividends.
"It comes down to what goes on daily in the classroom. The staff demands that kids work hard and achieve. It's a schoolwide effort targeting all kids -- a cultural mentality within the building that we want the highest achievement possible," he said.
"That, along with increased support from parents, an overall supportive community and resources from our sister school and administrators, spells success," Meloche said.
Reach Barbara S. Rothschild at (856) 486-2416 or barothschild@camden.gannett.com.
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