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State Board certifies two districts amid concern that many districts fall below 80% on performance reviews
Summary
The New Jersey State Board of Education certified Mainland Regional High School and Warren County Vocational Technical School but members flagged that 37 districts scored below 80% on recent CUSAC evaluations, with student performance on NJSLS assessments driving many low scores and staff promising revised weightings and growth measures.
The New Jersey State Board of Education voted to certify Mainland Regional High School (Atlantic County) and Warren County Vocational Technical School (Warren County) after staff presented district evaluation results and recommendations. The vote to accept the two certifications was called and approved during the meeting.
Board members raised focused concerns that 37 districts scored below the 80% threshold on the state's CUSAC evaluations, with some in the 60s and 70s. "We're seeing a trend, and it's not getting better yet," Board member Barry said, urging staff to clarify whether low scores reflect instruction or single-test outcomes. Assistant Commissioner Ambrose Duckett told the board that the majority of underperforming districts were affected by student results on the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) assessments and that the department is proposing changes to rebalance indicator weights for the upcoming year.
Staff described plans to redistribute weights across indicators and to add growth measures to future models so that schools are assessed on both achievement and student growth. "As we move into this next phase, we'll have raw test scores plus looking at student growth," a department official said, emphasizing that the revised model should help more districts meet certification benchmarks.
Board members pressed for more clarity about supports for districts close to the threshold. One member asked about interim supports between full assessments; staff said county education specialists and office program staff work directly with districts to align curricula to standards, conduct classroom visits, and provide improvement planning. The department also noted that current CUSAC modeling is based more heavily on test scores and that revisions are intended to give a fuller picture of district performance.
The certification vote itself covered only the two recommended districts; board members said the broader performance conversation will continue as the department finalizes assessment vendor contracts and the revised performance model.
What happens next: The department will continue implementing weighting changes and integrate growth metrics in future reviews; board members signaled continued oversight of how the revisions affect certification counts.
