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Watchung Hills reports gains on state and AP assessments as district prepares for new vendor’s field test
Summary
District presenters told the board Watchung Hills had 436 graduates in 2025 and showed year-to-year gains on NJSLA algebra and science; staff also described a state switch to a new testing vendor and a mandated November field test that raises questions about privacy and scoring.
A district presenter told the Watchung Hills Regional High School District Board of Education that 436 students graduated in 2025 and summarized how graduates met requirements through multiple pathways, including 19 students meeting ELA requirements via substitute competency assessments and 78 meeting math requirements that way.
The presenter said the district saw gains in several assessment measures. "Our mean went up 20 points from the year before," the presenter said when reviewing algebra 1 regional comparisons, and staff reported a strong algebra 2 cohort and improved 11th-grade science performance, with 50.3% of students rated Proficient or Advanced Proficient compared with a cited state figure of 31.3%.
Presenters attributed some shifts to a deliberate change in course sequencing intended to give more students sustained algebra exposure (algebra 1 followed directly by algebra 2 rather than an intervening geometry course in some sequences). They said the change likely explains a modest dip in geometry scores this year and that staff plan a summer disaggregation of subgroup data to confirm the cause. "That change to geometry did cause our scores to go down a little bit this year," a presenter said.
The board also heard that AP participation has increased after the district removed barriers and revised prerequisites, a strategy district leaders said was intended to expand access rather than inflate averages. One board member asked what students do in the classroom after the AP exam; students and staff described follow-up activities such as research papers in some courses.
District staff flagged a statewide testing-vendor change. Presenters said the state is moving to Pearson (with Cambium/BMBM tools referenced for some components) and described the vendor’s adaptive-test design and a required November field test. "This test is an adaptive test," a presenter said, explaining that the field test will not produce scores for students, parents or schools and exists to validate items and train administrators. Staff raised questions about how item banking, scoring and privacy will be handled under the new system and said they had not yet received full details.
Board members asked that staff continue to report disaggregated subgroup data, provide clarity on how the district will manage the November field test, and share any guidance the state releases on security and data privacy. The presenters said the district will hold teacher PD on October 13 to review released items and test-aligned instruction and will circulate field-test correspondence to families in the coming weeks.
The district did not propose policy changes during the presentation; board members asked for follow-up data and future updates to the curriculum and testing timelines.
