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Freehold Township board questions CUSAC formula after mixed monitoring scores; district emphasizes growth and local assessments
Summary
Board members reviewed state CUSAC monitoring results and NJSLA scores, raising concerns that the state formula overweights science assessments and can understate local progress; district leaders said they will focus on growth, local common assessments and an improvement plan.
The Freehold Township School District on Monday reviewed results from the state monitoring process known as CUSAC and debated whether the state’s scoring method fairly reflects district performance. Board leaders and administrators said the district posted strong internal scores for personnel, operations and governance but that the way the state weights achievement, particularly science, produced a lower district figure compared with the county report.
Board President read the district’s mission at the outset and framed the discussion as part of ongoing efforts to “understand what we’re doing in our district and know where our weaknesses are.” District staff reported six HIB (harassment, intimidation and bullying) investigations since the last meeting — four found and two unfounded — before turning to the CUSAC overview and data conversation.
District presenters explained CUSAC’s approach: multiple 10-point components covering achievement, progress and subgroup growth. Staff said the district received perfect scores in personnel, operations and governance and a 96% in fiscal management, while achievement inputs driven by state-provided assessment data reduced one published district score. Presenters argued the formula gives equal weight to science despite science testing being administered to far fewer grade levels, a structure they said can depress district results even when local growth is strong.
Board members pushed on timing and next steps. The district said proposed CUSAC revisions are currently in the state public-comment period and, if adopted, would take effect for the next cohort. Board members noted broad county-level patterns — staff said roughly 75% of districts in the local cohort did not reach the state’s 80% threshold — and described advocacy that district leaders and neighboring districts have undertaken at the county and state level.
The curriculum committee previewed NJSLA results and follow-up. Committee leaders reported that, for the grades cited at the meeting, ELA proficiency stood at 63.7% in grades 3–5, math at 56.7% for the same grades and science proficiency at about 24.6% in upper elementary/middle grades; a full presentation of NJSLA data was scheduled for the board’s November meeting. Committee staff emphasized that the district is developing local common assessments and has updated curricular materials to measure progress and guide intervention.
Assistant Superintendent Becky Montgomery (present at the Oct. 11 curriculum meeting) and committee members said the district will produce a district-improvement plan with goals for math, ELA and science that reflect work already underway — including expanded tutoring, revised curricular materials in middle school and a planned parent-facing report on diagnostic assessments.
What’s next: the board scheduled a deeper NJSLA presentation for November and said it will monitor the state’s rulemaking on CUSAC during the public-comment period. The district said local diagnostic and common-assessment data will guide short-term interventions while the advocacy and code-revision process continues at the state level.
