South Plainfield superintendent team reports mixed NJSLA cohort gains and strong AP results; action plan outlined

Assistant Superintendent Mary Maleska presented district assessment results and a set of instructional actions to the South Plainfield Board of Education during the board’s October meeting.

Maleska reviewed five assessments the district reports externally—NJSLA (English language arts, mathematics and science), ACCESS for ELLs (English-language proficiency), Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM, for students with significant cognitive disabilities), and Advanced Placement (AP) exams—and highlighted areas of growth and remaining challenges. “We are really making amazing strides,” Maleska said of cohort gains at the elementary level.

Nut graf: The presentation showed substantial year-to-year cohort improvements in several elementary grades on NJSLA measures (for example, multiple schools rising from the mid-30s and 40s to the mid-50s and higher for levels 4–5). At the same time, Maleska flagged the middle-to-high-school transition—notably the move from grade 8 to algebra 1 assessments—as an area requiring focused work. The district also reported AP performance that exceeded global averages across most subjects.

Most important findings and the district’s response

- NJSLA (ELA and math): Maleska presented school- and grade-level cohort comparisons showing strong growth from grades 3 to 4 at several elementary schools. She cautioned that transitions (for example, grades 5→6 and 8→9) show dips and will be targets for intervention. "Grades 3 last year to grade 4 this year, just for Franklin, a 36% passing up to a 57%," she said, citing specific cohort improvements.

- Algebra and course-splitting effects: The presentation noted that algebra 1 marks a tracking split that affects cohort scores. Maleska said performance on algebra 1 looked different from the general eighth-grade math assessment and that the district will consider alignment and placement strategies when addressing math transitions.

- ACCESS for ELLs and multilingual learners: Maleska explained ACCESS for ELLs is an English-proficiency assessment that is not cohort-stable because students arrive in and leave the district at different grades. She said multilingual learner enrollment has grown substantially (from about 103 students in an earlier year to roughly 230 in the most recent count), complicating cohort analysis.

- DLM: Maleska said 14 students took DLM assessments in ELA and math; the state will not publicly report subgroup results when counts are below threshold for privacy.

- Advanced Placement: The district reported AP scores that exceed the global average in nearly all subject areas, with strong results in literature, world history and several STEM courses. Maleska said AP participation and high scores reflect sustained teacher focus on assessment alignment.

District action plan and next steps

Maleska outlined several immediate steps the district will take: continued vertical articulation (grade-to-grade coordination among teachers), correlation analysis to align classroom grades with standardized-assessment rigor, anonymous scoring practice in PLCs to improve grading consistency, SIOP training for teachers to support multilingual learners, and use of Lexile adjustments and online resources to match texts to student reading levels.

She said special-services staff will work with teachers and the CST (Child Study Team) to ensure Individualized Education Programs match student needs where DLM data apply.

Board members thanked Maleska for the work; no formal board action attached to the presentation.

Ending: The district will post the extended slide set online and continue reporting disaggregated subgroup data to the board; Maleska closed by reiterating the district’s focus on cohort growth and classroom-to-assessment alignment.