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Superintendent presents 2023–24 state test results; district above state averages but algebra and 3rd-grade ELA flagged for review
Summary
The superintendent presented 2023–24 NJSLA and DLM results showing Mountainside students outperforming state averages in most grades and subjects, while the district will examine an algebra 1 dip and lower third-grade ELA results and pursue targeted interventions.
Superintendent (speaker 6) presented the Mountainside School District's 2023—24 state testing results to the board, saying the district outperformed state averages in most tested subjects but identifying algebra and third-grade ELA as areas for further review. "Overall, our math scores were significantly higher than the state average at all of our areas," the superintendent said, citing examples such as 78% of third-graders meeting or exceeding in math versus the state's 47% and an overall district math rate of 75% compared with 42% statewide.
The presentation covered NJSLA comparisons against the district factor group (DFG) and state results and included DLM (Dynamic Learning Map) reporting for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. The superintendent highlighted a cohort effect in middle-school math: the percent meeting or exceeding in seventh grade fell to 62% in a cohort where many seventh-graders were taking Algebra 1. "Algebra 1 across years, though, if you look at it, they are, again, lower this past year, but not huge significant. We were 77% the year before, 70% this past year," the superintendent said.
On ELA, the superintendent noted consistently strong results overall but singled out third-grade ELA as an outlier: "Our 3rd graders, we were at 62% of meeting and exceeding, which is not a number that we were used to seeing." The district factor group comparison (DFG) showed a similar percent (64%), prompting the superintendent to suggest both test-level and instructional factors be examined.
The presentation laid out specific next steps and interventions already in practice or planned if the public funding measure passes: expanded use of the I-Ready personalized pathways for K—5 benchmarking and targeted lessons; continued rollout of the thinking-classroom model and math enrichment courses; targeted OP (opportunity periods) and small-group instruction; increased collaboration with neighboring Berkeley Heights on middle-school articulation; and introduction/expansion of Lincoln science mini-assessments aligned to NGSS to improve readiness for the science NJSLA.
Board members asked questions about longitudinal cohorts (students who moved into the district), alignment with sending high schools for honors tracks and algebra curriculum articulation, and whether COVID-era learning disruptions might explain third-grade outcomes. The superintendent acknowledged those possibilities and reiterated that specialists, teachers and administrators will drill into evidence statements and benchmarking data to identify targeted instructional adjustments.
The superintendent also reported DLM results (scale scored on a 4-point scale) and noted that most DLM students scored at the emerging level in ELA and math; the DLM science component affects fifth-grade reporting for that subgroup. The presentation closed with the superintendent saying the district will examine pacing, curriculum alignment and use of additional benchmarking data and return to the board with specific recommendations.
The board took no formal action on curriculum changes during the meeting; the superintendent framed the next steps as analysis, planning and potential program reinstatements contingent on funding and future board direction.
