Vernon reports higher NJGPA graduation readiness and outlines supports for students who did not meet cut scores

Vernon Township School District administrators presented the district's spring 2025 New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA) and NJ ACCESS (WIDA) results at the July board meeting, reporting higher graduation-readiness rates in both English language arts and math compared with the statewide averages and describing the district’s retake, alternate-assessment and portfolio pathways and targeted interventions for students who did not meet cut scores.

The presentation said the State Board of Education adopted a cut score of 725 for the NJGPA components on May 3, 2023. District staff reported that on the English-language-arts component 211 students were tested: 188 (89.1 percent) met the graduation-ready cut score and 23 (10.9 percent) did not. By comparison, the state’s reported figures were 80.7 percent graduation ready and 19.3 percent not graduation ready. On the mathematics component 210 students were tested: 137 (65.2 percent) were graduation ready and 73 (34.8 percent) were not; staff said the state’s comparable math readiness rate was roughly 58 percent.

District staff described the stepwise options available to students who do not meet the NJGPA cut scores. The district will offer a fall retake of the NJGPA; students who still do not meet the cut score may take alternate assessments such as the SAT, PSAT, ASVAB or ACCUPLACER. If those assessments are insufficient, students can pursue a portfolio appeal that is submitted to the state. Staff said high-school teachers and guidance and MTSS teams support students through retakes and portfolio preparation.

Administrators also presented NJ ACCESS (WIDA) results for the district’s multilingual learners (ML). At the time of the presentation staff reported 66 students tested (the district said that number had since increased to 72). Across the district cohorts combined, staff reported 13 students at ACCESS level 2 (20 percent), 14 at level 3 (21 percent) and 29 at level 4 (44 percent). For kindergarten through grade 5 the district reported 36 students with 20 scoring at level 4 (56 percent). Presenters cautioned that many subgroup cells were suppressed where cohort counts were under 10 to avoid identification, so some subgroup lines appear as “<10” or NA in the published tables.

To address gaps identified in the data, presenters described district interventions already in place and planned expansions: instructional coaches who work with teachers (K–12) and sometimes pull small groups; math labs at the high school; dedicated teachers who support portfolio development; and multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS) that provide targeted tier 2 and tier 3 interventions. Staff singled out special education and multilingual-learner populations as groups the district will examine closely and said they plan longitudinal tracking to determine whether program changes are producing sustained gains.

Board members asked for further question-level and item-type breakdowns (for example, open-ended word problems versus computational questions) and whether the district could show how reading levels affect math performance. Presenters said the NJGPA does not produce the same detailed question-type evidence statements the district receives from NJSLA, but the district uses multiple local assessments and prior NJSLA evidence statements to target instruction. Board members also asked about subgroup comparisons with the state; staff said they would attempt to break those comparisons out and report back.

Presenters underscored the district’s communication plans: the full slide deck and data tables will be posted to the district website for public review, and staff added a new FAQ section to the presentation to explain what the cut scores mean and the options available to students who do not meet the threshold. The presentation also noted that NJ ACCESS results are used to inform individualized instruction and IEPs as appropriate.

District staff framed the overall result as positive: the district is above the state average for ELA and reported year-over-year increases in several cohorts. They recommended continued emphasis on curriculum alignment, targeted interventions in math, and supports for multilingual learners and special education students to increase equity in graduation readiness.

The board did not take formal action on the assessment presentation itself; staff said follow-up data and more detailed subgroup comparisons will be brought back to the board in future meetings.