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Princeton reports preliminary gains on state assessments; district and subgroup performance improve
Summary
District staff presented preliminary OST/state assessment results showing the performance index rising from 70.7 to about 73.9 and multi-year proficiency gains, with notable improvements for English learners and students with disabilities; final state data are expected in September.
Princeton City Schools presented preliminary state assessment results at the board meeting on Monday, reporting districtwide gains and improvements among several student subgroups.
An academic team presenter said the district expects to maintain its three-star achievement rating while increasing its performance index from 70.7 last year to approximately 73.9 this year. "We are very proud and very excited of that growth," the presenter said, adding that final, cleaned data will be released by the state in September.
Presenters highlighted that multi-year trends show rising proficiency since the COVID period, and they called out subgroup progress: roughly a 4-percentage-point increase in proficiency for students with disabilities in grades 3–8 over five years and nearly a 16-percentage-point increase on end-of-course tests at the high-school level. The team described targeted instructional approaches — tier 1 instruction, MTSS tiers 2 and 3, co-teaching models and domain-specific interventions — as part of the district’s strategy to continue growth.
English learners also showed improvement: presenters said about a 10-percentage-point gain over five years in grades 3–8 and in end-of-course tests, with gains in reading, writing and listening. The district reported exiting 177 English-learner students this year — roughly 50–55 more than the year before — and singled out one building that exited 55 students alone.
Presenters acknowledged areas for additional work, including the speaking domain for English learners and continued focus on individualized interventions for students with disabilities to meet IEP goals and close performance gaps. Trustees asked clarifying questions about how the graphs represent proficiency and subgroup comparisons; presenters walked the board through the proficiency percentages, noting that for 2024–25 about 17.8% of students with disabilities were proficient versus 60.5% among students not on IEPs, according to the slide discussed.
The board received the update for information; presenters noted that the state’s official, cleaned report card will be posted in September and that district staff will continue data dives at the school and student level to guide instruction.
The board's discussion emphasized celebration of gains while acknowledging remaining gaps and an ongoing focus on evidence-based instructional supports.
