Secaucus presents spring 2025 assessment results; state moves to adaptive NJSLA testing
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Summary
District staff presented spring 2025 assessment data showing roughly half of students meeting or exceeding expectations in core subjects, growth in some grades, a doubling of multilingual learners in recent years, and preparations for adaptive state testing.
Felicia Chatrit, the district director of elementary education for curriculum and instruction, presented the Secaucus School District’s spring 2025 assessment results at the Oct. 16 Board of Education meeting, outlining results across NJSLA (English language arts and math), science, ACCESS for ELLs, the DLM (Dynamic Learning Maps), and the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA).
Chatrit told the board the district’s summary figures include about 44% of students in math scoring in the meeting‑and‑exceeding categories (levels 4 and 5) and about 53% of students in ELA at those levels. She highlighted strong performance in specific courses and grades, including middle‑school Algebra I and geometry sections that the presentation showed with high shares of students at the top performance levels.
The presentation also noted the district tested 129 students on the ACCESS for ELLs assessment this year and that the district’s multilingual learner population has roughly doubled in recent years, from 61 students in October 2021 to about 120 students in October 2025. Chatrit said the ACCESS results feed federal ESSA accountability calculations and help the district target instruction for multilingual learners.
Chatrit reviewed curriculum initiatives and materials intended to support further growth: continued implementation of the district math program (referred to in the presentation as "Veil mathematics," year 5 of implementation), expansion of supplemental programs (Number Worlds, Alex Adventure for K–3), the district’s use of LinkIt benchmark data, and rollout plans for literacy materials including Amplify CKLA in early grades and CommonLit in grades 6–12. She said local benchmark data are posted for parents on LinkIt and that teachers will use a planned professional‑development day to analyze assessment results and guide instruction.
Superintendent Toback told the board the district had posted the two mandated reports online and praised the staff for their work on curriculum and instruction. Chatrit also noted state testing will change: the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment will become adaptive (presented as the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment Adaptive) and adaptive field testing was scheduled in October at district sites with the operational adaptive test set to debut statewide in spring 2026.
Chatrit urged parents and teachers to review the posted slide deck and benchmark reports and said the district expects incremental gains as new curriculum materials continue to be implemented. She also said subgroup breakdowns and comparisons to state data are included in the posted report for public review.
The board did not take a vote on the presentation; the slides and detailed data were made available on the district website, per Chatrit.
