If there was any one thing to take away from the Medford Public Schools Board of Education meeting last week, it’s that students are very smart, according to standardized testing scores.
A presentation by Thomas Olson, the administrative director of programming and planning for the district, revealed the school district’s test scores remained excellent across all grades on the NJASK test, a state-mandated standardized test for grades three to eight.
“Every year it’s a nice presentation to give, because our children do very well and did very well again this year,” Olson said.
Medford, which is considered a DFG I school district in terms of wealth, scored above average in most subjects across the grade levels when compared to other school districts in the same group. Some of the school districts in the area that are in the same group include Moorestown, Mt. Laurel and Evesham.
The one number that seemed to grab everyone’s attention was the number of advanced proficient students in math. In third grade, about two-thirds of the students were considered advanced proficient, while in fifth grade, the number was even larger at 72.1 percent.
Olson attributed the spike in math scores partially to the new math program that the district started last year. He said it is a more parent-friendly program and that the teachers also spent more time focusing on math lesson plans, helping to enhance those scores.
The school district also graded well in language arts, with each grade level having at least 86 percent of kids graded as being proficient or advanced proficient.
While the proficiency rate is lower than the math one, this is partially due to the language arts test being harder, according to Olson. The district still ranked above average in DFG I and well above the state average across all grade levels.
Despite the high scores, the district is still focusing on improving its already stellar numbers.
“We’ve been focusing on getting more students advanced proficient in the language arts program,” Olson said.
However, there was nothing but good feelings from the Board of Education, parents and teachers in attendance.
“Most school districts would love these types of scores,” Olson said. “We should be pleased.”
In other news:
• The Medford Education Foundation presented the Board of Education with its annual donation at last week’s meeting. MEF President Tommie Ann Gibney presented a check to the board for $50,000.
Gibney stated that the $50,000 will be used to purchase 120 laptops and seven wireless-enabled laptop cards, one for each school.
School Board President Michael Etter stated his appreciation as he accepted the check from Gibney.
“The things we’ve been able to obtain with the money you donated, we couldn’t have even dreamed of in today’s budget,” he said.
The Board of Education in turn passed a resolution honoring the MEF. The non-profit organization has donated more than $555,000 to Medford schools since 2004.
• The Board of Education passed a resolution stating its goals for the 2013–14 school year.
While only some details were presented, the board’s goals included pursuing alternative revenue streams to support the school budget, addressing the district’s capital improvement projects, implementation of the state’s new teacher evaluation system and looking into extending instructional time in kindergarten.
The Medford Board of Education will hold a work session on Monday, Nov. 11. Its next action meeting is on Nov. 25.
