Interim Superintendent of Schools Dolores Szymanski is concerned about the data in the new Performance Report Overview, scheduled for release this month, which replaces the annual report card platform on which school districts were formerly graded.
According to Szymanski, the information poorly reflects the number of students who took algebra I and were receiving high school credits.
“The data is incorrect because 40 percent of the students are enrolled in high school algebra,” Szymanski said.
Students use the same textbooks and are given the same tests as Lenape Regional High School District through the adoption of curriculum. But, according to Szymanski, a problem with the reporting system resulted in the district being considered not “college and career ready,” a problem that has no immediate solution.
According to Szymanski, the only negative mark on the report is at IMMS for algebra I. Other portions of the report reflect good performance for the district.
“If the results get published it will be a negative reflection on the district that really shouldn’t happen. It doesn’t jive with the other information,” Szymanksi said.
“We understand that the shift from the old report cards to the new format will be an adjustment for some superintendents, which is the exact reason the draft reports were sent out under embargo — so we could receive feedback from the field and address any identified errors,” Department of Education Press Secretary Barbara Morgan said. “This is a collaborative process with districts and much of this information is data they have submitted to us at various points during the year with multiple opportunities to correct it.
“The purpose of these reports is to provide quality, usable data to districts so they may make the best decisions about how to meet the educational needs of their students.
“To that end, we are sending another draft of the reports out to districts so they can preview the revisions before releasing the reports to the public.”
According to the DOE, the annual New Jersey School Report Card is required under a 1995 state law.
The report presented 35 fields of information for each school in the following categories: school environment, students, student performance indicators, staff and district finances.
“School Performance Reports will carry many of the same categories of data as did the Report Cards, with additional information categories,” Richard Vespucci, spokesman for the DOE, said in an email.
“Also, school stats will be compared against peer districts, based on common characteristics identified by the state Department of Education.”
According to the DOE, the purpose of the new Performance Report Overview will enable participants to engage in local goal setting, improvement planning andperformance management in addition to indicating career and college readiness.
“The big thing that’s different is the comparison of schools rather than different factor groups.
“It allows schools to be compared on another like-entity on like factors,” Szymanksi said. “I believe it will offer districts a better assessment of what is really happening with the district.”
