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Fort Lee presents spring 2024 NJGPA and ACCESS results; district outlines curriculum and support plans
Summary
The assistant superintendent reported that Fort Lee students scored above the state average on the spring 2024 NJGPA, noted subgroup shifts and multilingual learner gains, and the district announced curriculum pilots, professional development and new in‑district programs aimed at reducing out‑of‑district special‑education costs.
At the Jan. 11 Fort Lee Board of Education meeting, the assistant superintendent presented the district's spring 2024 assessment results and outlined a suite of academic interventions for the coming school year.
Presentation highlights included a 99.7% participation rate among grade 11 students on the NJGPA and overall district proficiency rates the presenter described as "89 percent" proficient in English language arts and "75 percent" proficient in math for students who took the assessment. The assistant superintendent said Fort Lee students performed above the state average in both ELA and math and noted a 5% decline in ELA proficiency compared with 2023 alongside a 7% increase in math proficiency.
The presenter also reviewed subgroup trends, noting declines for Hispanic, Asian and Black/African American students in ELA between 2023 and 2024 and math gains for several subgroups. For multilingual learners, the ACCESS assessment results showed that 43% of multilingual learners scored levels 4–6 overall; the presenter reported that 544 students took ACCESS, and 45 students were coded as eligible but had parents who refused services.
The district said it identified skill gaps—particularly in reading informational text and geometry—and proposed a set of responses: targeted professional-development coaching for Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2 teachers; a revised English language arts curriculum emphasizing informational texts; enhanced supports and tutoring for eligible students; and ML (multilingual) strategies training and newcomers workshops. The superintendent also described plans to open an in‑district vocational/trades program (electrical, plumbing, general maintenance) to reduce out‑of‑district placements and cited expected savings connected to keeping students in‑district.
Public commenters raised the high costs of out‑of‑district special‑education placements (one speaker cited a figure described in the transcript as "3,000,500 and something thousand dollars") and asked whether the district could train staff to retain more students in‑district. The superintendent responded that individualized education plans drive placement decisions and described expanding in‑district vocational and preschool‑disabled services to reduce placements elsewhere. The superintendent also said the district expects some savings and cited preliminary estimates in the transcript (verbatim phrasing used where the numeric was unclear).
What's next: The district said the assessment presentation and supporting slides will be posted on the district website. The board and administration said they will monitor updated NJSLA results when released and will continue implementing the curricular pilots, professional development and program changes during 2024–25.
