West Orange assessment director reports gains, flags algebra 2 and subgroup gaps

Michelle Martino, the district’s director of assessment, accountability and intervention, presented West Orange Public Schools’ spring 2025 assessment results to the board on Nov. 10 and highlighted measurable gains, continuing gaps and the district’s response plans.

Martino said the district’s students in early elementary math (grades 3–5) are performing above state proficiency levels and that the district has shown “significant growth” in math grades 6–8 over a three‑year comparison. She told the board that cohort analysis shows improved proficiency in some cohorts and that, for the current graduating class, about 57% of students are “graduation ready” by the NJGPA math measure — a figure Martino noted refers to a single assessment pathway and that the district’s overall graduation rate approaches 90% once other pathways (SAT/ACT/portfolio) are included. “We are showing significant growth in in all 3 areas,” Martino said of middle‑school math, and added, “I think we are moving in the right direction.”

Why it matters: the presentation guided the…