Hawthorne district reports gains on state ELA tests, outlines screening and intervention steps

Hawthorne Public School District officials told the school board on Monday that the district made measurable gains on 2025 NJSLA state assessments, with districtwide English language arts proficiency (scores of 4 or 5) reported at about 61% and math proficiency at about 41%.

At a nearly hour-and-a-half presentation, the district’s assessment lead said the results show multi-year upward trends and improvement for targeted subgroups, while also identifying specific “blip” areas — notably a fourth-grade dip and a complex ninth-grade comparison affected by student attrition between eighth and ninth grade.

Dr. Trebona, the district’s assessment director, told the board the district is seeing “a snowball” effect from sustained interventions: cohort comparisons show year-to-year growth for students tracked from grade to grade, and subgroup analysis showed gains among Hispanic students, economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities in many grades. “We went from 55% to 61% in ELA over three years,” Dr. Trebona said during the presentation.

Why this matters: district leaders said the results validate choices the district made in curriculum pacing, use of a new universal screener and the rollout of I-Ready and MyPath individualized interventions. Board members and parents pressed for details about how the district will address the fourth-grade dip and how parents can access screening reports.

Key details from the presentation

- ELA and math proficiency: Presenters reported the district at roughly 61% proficient (4 or 5) in ELA for grades 3–9 and about 41% in math for grades 3–8 and students enrolled in Algebra I through grade 9. The presenter said the district exceeds state averages in most grades except a lower ninth-grade figure driven by student movement out of the district.

- Cohort growth vs. grade-level comparisons: Administrators emphasized cohort tracking (following the same students from one year to the next) and said cohort measures show stronger growth than a pure grade-level comparison in some grades. For example, students who took the third-grade test in 2024 and the fourth-grade test in 2025 increased proficiency by about 11.7%.

- Fourth-grade anomaly: The presenter flagged a fourth-grade dip when comparing different cohorts year to year and described work to examine the evidence statements and item types where students struggled. The district said teachers found some items combined skills (for example, poetry and plays) that had not been previously taught in combined form, and the district is adjusting instruction and curriculum pacing to address that.

- Algebra I and accelerated pathways: The presentation noted that Algebra I results differ between middle school (eighth-grade accelerants) and high school because the cohorts tested are different; eighth-grade accelerated students took Algebra I in middle school and performed at high pass rates, while the larger high school Algebra I cohort includes later entrants and has a lower pass rate.

- Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) and audit risk: The district reported a sharp increase in students taking the DLM alternate assessment and said it is over the state's 1% cap for DLM participation. Administrators said the district is preparing an audit packet (IEPs and documentation) for a December state audit and defended the district’s practices, saying Hawthorne serves a larger share of students with severe disabilities (about 23–25% of enrollment) than neighboring districts (16–18%). The district noted it will not change testing assignments solely to meet the 1% cap.

- Screeners and interventions: The district replaced Renaissance Star 360 with I-Ready universal screening and MyPath individualized interventions. Administrators said research supports 40 minutes per week per subject on MyPath to drive gains; the district reported kindergarten students using the platform 15–20 minutes daily. The district also described small “core” classes (about 12 students) for middle school students who did not respond to earlier interventions, funded in part with Title I.

- Reading and assistive programs: The district continues to use Learning Ally (supported by a state grant) and other reading supports. The presenter said these tools help remove decoding barriers so students can access higher-order comprehension tasks.

What parents can expect

Administrators said parent-facing I-Ready or MyPath reports are available on request; the district is cautious about automatically sending reports because the projected-growth metrics can appear alarming without in-person explanation. Principals and teachers will share diagnostic results at conferences and upon parental request.

Quotes from board members and parents

A parent asked whether I-Ready data are accessible to teachers and families in real time; Dr. Trebona confirmed teachers and principals can view minutes, question-level results and student task assignments in the platform and that the district monitors teacher fidelity.

Board member comment: “It’s encouraging to see the data moving in the right direction,” said a board member during the discussion, praising the district’s professional development day and targeted interventions.

Ending and next steps

District leaders said they will continue to dig into item-level evidence statements for the fourth-grade anomalies, expand the small-group middle-school pilot if results hold, and complete the documentation requested for the state’s DLM audit in December. The board did not take a formal action on the presentation itself; subsequent agenda items handled routine approvals and personnel motions.