Montgomery Township reports high NJGPA proficiency; officials note subgroup gaps and targeted interventions

The Montgomery Township School District reported that a large majority of students met the statedefined graduation-ready standard on the spring 2025 New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment, while administrators warned small subgroup sizes can magnify percentage changes and described layered interventions for students who need extra support.

Fiona Borland, director of curriculum and instruction and staff development, told the board the NJGPA "is designed to measure the extent to which students are graduation ready in both English and mathematics" and that the test was administered to all 11th graders in March. She said the stateadopted proficiency cut score for English language arts is 725.

The district reported 95.5% of students were graduation ready in English language arts and 92% were graduation ready in mathematics for 2025. Borland and district staff emphasized that subgroup counts under 10 are suppressed by state privacy rules, and that apparent swings in subgroup percentages can reflect small raw-number changes rather than broad declines.

"It is very important that whenever as a school district, we are presenting student data, that we protect our student privacy," Borland said, explaining the New Jersey Department of Education's minimum n-size of 10 for subgroup reporting.

Nut graf: The presentation framed the district's overall results as strong but flagged persistent gaps for specific student groups and described a mix of classroom and supplemental interventions the district uses to identify and support students at risk of not meeting the standard.

Administrators gave subgroup breakdowns presented by Borland: in ELA, Hispanic students were shown at about 91.2%, Asian students about 98.1%, Black students about 76.5%, and White students about 94.6% as "graduation ready." In mathematics the district reported approximately 79.4% of Hispanic students, 97.6% of Asian students, 58.8% of Black students, and 89.9% of White students as graduation ready. For economically disadvantaged students Borland cited 69.4% readiness in one slide and 83.3% in another slide context; she and board members noted the differences reflect subgroup definitions and small n-size effects and asked that readers treat subgroup percentages cautiously.

Board discussion focused on whether the year-to-year changes in math proficiency reflected a systemic shift or cohort differences. A board member asked, "the data from '23 to '25 seems to have shifted significantly in mathematics. What is the reason for that?" Borland and other administrators responded that cohorts differ year to year and a small number of students can change subgroup percentages substantially. Borland said the district tracks students continuously and identifies those needing help months before high-stakes tests.

Borland described the district's layered interventions: regular monitoring in teacher and administrator teams; tutoring and after-school clinics; math and literacy skills lab courses that run concurrently with other classes; targeted pull-outs and study-hall interventions; and use of frequent local assessments and STAR/STAAR360 benchmark measures to track growth. "Student performance is regularly monitored, analyzed, and assessed by our staff," she said.

Board member and district commenters asked about timing and whether a summative test can inform interventions. Borland replied that interventions are not solely post-test: "we are monitoring students" throughout the year and invite students to targeted supports well before the NJGPA administration in March.

The presentation concluded with district leaders praising instructional staff for the results and reiterating the limits of subgroup reporting when counts are small. Superintendent McLaughlin closed the superintendent's report following the presentation.

Ending: District officials said the next administration of the NJGPA will take place in March and that they will continue using multiple benchmark assessments and targeted programs to monitor both proficiency and student growth over time.