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Bound Brook district credits tutoring, schedule changes and ASI classes for jump in NJGPA performance
Summary
During its July meeting the Bound Brook Board of Education heard a presentation from district leaders reporting preliminary New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment (NJGPA) results, describing targeted tutoring and ASI supports and outlining schedule changes aimed at raising graduation readiness for the class of 2026 and other cohorts.
Bound Brook School District leaders told the school board on Tuesday that preliminary NJGPA results show measurable gains after the district expanded tutoring, added ASI classes and altered schedules to increase instructional time.
District leaders said the 11th-grade cohort that is on track to graduate saw a 16-point mean increase in math from 2023 to 2025, and that targeted supports helped move students across the proficiency distribution. "The cutoff score for the NJGPA is 725," the presenter said, explaining the bubble of students the district is trying to move past that threshold.
The presentation, delivered by district leadership with acknowledgements to Lisonbee Winter (assistant superintendent), Jill Taluski (supervisor of math), Eric Schmidt (supervisor of English and social studies) and Robin Griffin (chief academic officer), focused on tests taken by students who are "on pace" and on additional students the district tests to keep them on a four-year graduation track. The presenter said the district intentionally tested students beyond the on‑pace 11th-grade cohort — including some 10th graders and off‑track 12th graders — to offer retests and supports.
Why it matters: district officials said the combined changes appear to be raising graduation readiness and reducing the number of students who require alternative portfolio pathways to graduate. The presenter described the district's approach as "intentional data review" and cited early program results in support of expanding those efforts.
Key details and outcomes - Tutoring and ASI: The district ran math tutoring led by the supervisor of math and an ASI (Academic Support Intervention) program put into the high school this year. Of students who attended the NJGPA math tutoring sessions, the presenter said, "66 percent of them demonstrated graduation readiness." The district added English tutoring for the coming year and is expanding ASI offerings across grades. - Test timing and retakes: For 2025 the district said it will continue summer testing, add a fall NJGPA administration (October), and allow additional retakes so students can remain with their four‑year cohort. District staff noted NJ Smart uploads must be finalized before releasing official cohort graduation rates. - Instructional minutes and schedule: The district plans to change to a rotating schedule that increases instructional time in core classes from about 6,700 minutes to approximately 8,100 minutes per year, and to reduce students' course loads from eight to seven to create more time for targeted supports (study halls/ASI/tutoring). - Curriculum and assessments: The district is implementing new curricula (Veil Math in grades 7–8), adopting LinkIt benchmark assessments to better align interim measures with NJSLA and NJGPA standards, and continuing AVID professional learning focused on academic language, rigor and student agency. - Cohort and scale numbers: The presenter cited a three‑year comparison showing gains in math reasoning and modeling (for example, reasoning moved from about 12% to 41% in the sampled measures) and an increase in students scoring above high proficiency bands in both ELA and math. The presentation referenced 159 of 186 students in a tested cohort and said the district is identifying roughly 21 students targeted for ASI placement in algebra/intermediate math this year.
District projection and limitations District leaders described a preliminary estimate that the district's graduation cohort could be "between 90 and 95 percent" graduation ready based on current data and the supports in place; they cautioned that official rates require NJ Smart confirmation. The presenter said the district's goal is to reduce reliance on alternative portfolio processes by increasing NJGPA proficiency through instruction and supports.
Board discussion and questions Board members asked for baseline figures, dropout reductions and whether identified students participated in ASI and tutoring. The presenter said ASI and targeted tutoring were implemented this year and that students were identified using multiple measures (benchmarks, NJSLA, NJGPA) rather than a single test. When asked about students still below proficiency, the presenter described new or expanded courses (integrated/intermediate math, additional ASI sections) and the rotating schedule to increase time on task.
What comes next District staff said they will continue fall and spring testing, expand ASI and tutoring, finalize schedules for next school year, and await NJ Smart data to confirm official cohort rates. The presentation closed with an acknowledgement that, while results are preliminary, the combination of targeted tutoring, ASI classes and schedule changes are producing early improvements in graduation readiness for the district's 11th‑grade cohort.
