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Board hears NJGPA and ACCESS results: ELA pass rate strong, math improvement lags
Summary
District leaders presented results showing 88.5% of the class of 2025 passed NJGPA ELA on the first sitting while 55.3% passed math; presenters noted substantial subgroup gains and a 108.7% increase in multilingual learner enrollment over three years and the board requested further disaggregation of math results.
The West Orange Board of Education reviewed the district’s spring 2024 NJGPA and ACCESS-for-ELLs results and discussed implications for fall instruction.
Michelle Martino, director of assessment, accountability and intervention, explained the state’s three pathways for meeting the new graduation requirement — the NJGPA assessment, substitute competency tests such as SAT/PSAT, or a portfolio appeal — and presented district-level scores for the class of 2025. “In ELA, 88.5 percent of our students passed the NJGPA with the first sitting,” Martino said. “And in math, 55.3 passed in that first sitting.”
Martino cautioned that the NJGPA requirement is new and that historical comparisons are limited. She noted the district showed year-over-year increases (ELA up about 4.6 percentage points and math up about 12.6 points compared to the prior counted year) and provided subgroup breakouts, reporting sizable gains for African American (about +8.1%), Hispanic (+6.1%) and Asian (+5.6%) students in ELA and notable math growth for some groups.
Martino also described the district’s multilingual learner population surge: end-of-year multilingual enrollment rose from 231 in 2021 to 482 in 2024 — a 108.7% increase. Board members asked how recent arrivals and language-exemptions for ELA affect the math proficiency figure and requested staff provide disaggregated fall data showing how many students who did not pass were multilingual learners, exempt under IEPs, or otherwise counted in specific subgroups. Superintendent Moore and Martino said they will pull that disaggregation for board review.
Board members praised the gains while noting continued work is needed in math. The presentation concluded with a description of next steps: letters to families with individual student reports, counselor follow-up on pathway choices, teacher review of data in September and targeted instruction before the fall assessment window in October.
The presentation was informational; the board asked staff to return with disaggregated data and next-step plans for students who did not meet the first-sitting criteria.
