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Toms River reports modest gains on state tests, cites attendance improvements
Summary
District administrators told the board Oct. 31 that NJSLA, AP and SAT results show multi-year growth — including a districtwide ELA rise and higher AP pass rates — while chronic absenteeism fell slightly in 2024–25.
Toms River Regional Schools administrators on Oct. 31 told the Board of Education the district has made measurable gains on several major assessments while working to reduce chronic absenteeism.
"We've seen a district wide increase of 4% in English language arts proficiency over the last two school years," said Fosnacht, who presented NJSLA results and explained the district uses cohort comparisons to measure student growth over time. He reported overall district proficiency in grades 3–9 at about 46%, compared with a state average around 53% for the same grades last year.
Administrators highlighted select grade-level gains (for example, seventh grade proficiency moved from roughly 49% to 55% and eighth grade from 46% to 52%) and said high school ELA proficiency jumped earlier in the period before settling higher than prior years. Fosnacht cautioned that some math averages exclude students accelerated into Algebra 1 or Geometry, which can affect grade-level percentages.
Director Green reported improvements on Advanced Placement and SAT measures. "In 2025, the percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher on AP exams rose to 78.3%," Green said, and the district recorded 693 AP students and 1,471 AP exams. He told the board the three-year mean SAT score for the Class of 2025 was 1,082, and district means were above state and national averages.
Officials also reviewed subgroup accountability and English-language proficiency testing. DeMeo noted the district reduced chronic absenteeism from 15.12% in 2023–24 to 14.35% in 2024–25 and reiterated that school-based attendance committees and interventions remain in place.
The presentations included performance breakdowns by school and subgroup; administrators said full slide decks and level-by-level data will be posted on the district website for families and the public.
The board took no formal action on these reports; the information will guide continuing instructional and attendance strategies.
