Toms River reports midyear gains in diagnostics; district to pilot Kaplan real-estate pre‑licensing course

Toms River Regional School District curriculum staff presented midyear student-performance data on Feb. 18, reporting notable declines in chronic absenteeism and measurable growth on midyear diagnostics while announcing a pilot career course for high‑school students.

Rich, a member of the curriculum/attendance team, said the district has reduced kindergarten chronic absenteeism "from 38% back in 22‑23 to around 21%" at this midyear checkpoint and described similar decreases across elementary grades. He and other staff credited school‑based attendance committees and tier‑one interventions while noting a seasonal illness spike that temporarily affected rates.

Staff emphasized the state threshold that triggers corrective action: New Jersey requires schools with chronic absenteeism above 10% to create corrective action plans. The presenters said each school completes investigations of students identified as chronically absent and that the district tracks absences at midyear to target interventions before year end. The district noted that the statewide chronic absenteeism rate for 2023–24 was about 14.9%.

On assessment results, Dana, a curriculum team member, briefed the board on I‑Ready diagnostics. "Almost every grade level has hit" the benchmark for math and reading growth at midyear, she said, noting that the district uses I‑Ready projections that closely align with expected NJSLA outcomes. District staff reported strong growth in early grades and particular attention to middle‑school math where standards become more complex; at the high‑school level, grade‑by‑grade point growth showed grade‑9 students averaging roughly a full year’s worth of growth by midyear.

Adrianne outlined targeted instructional responses: vocabulary and morphology in ELA, and domain‑specific focus (geometry, algebraic thinking, numbers/operations) in math. Staff described small‑group math intervention for students three or more grade levels behind using research‑based materials and manipulatives.

Separately, the district announced a pilot partnership with Kaplan to offer a New Jersey real‑estate pre‑licensing course at High School South. Staff described the offering as an asynchronous 75‑hour course available to students 17 and older at a 50% discounted cost of $164.50; students would have up to six months to complete the course and could sit for the state licensing exam when they turn 18. The pilot will begin with business‑academy students this spring, with plans to expand districtwide if the program proves successful.

Board members asked about AI and testing integrity; staff said the diagnostic environment restricts AI access during school‑day testing and that teachers have monitoring tools. The district also said I‑Ready midyear projections are consistent with end‑of‑year NJSLA expectations.

The curriculum team concluded by saying the midyear review is intended to sharpen focus for the remainder of the academic year, with further school‑level conversations to translate the diagnostic findings into classroom interventions.