Somerset Hills School District Reviewing School Performance Data

Somerset Hills Schools Superintendent Peter Miller said school officials have conducted a preliminary review of the state's revised performance report for New Jersey schools covering the 2011-12 school year.

However, he said the school district "need additional time to conduct a comparative analysis of past years’ performance" since the format of the report has changed so significantly since last year.

The highest scoring score was the which achieved a percentile ranking as being in the top 87 percent of so-called "peer" schools and 90 percent ranked against other schools statewide for academic achievement, according to the state Department of Education's online version of the report.

Bernards High School was ranked at 66 percent in academic achievement when compared with "peer" schools and 76 percent statewide, according to the report.

BHS also ranked in the top 70 percentile when compared against peer schools for college and career readiness, and 76 percent statewide, the report said.

The lowest-scoring school in the district under the new format was the Bedwell Elementary School, which supposedly ranked at 41 percentile in academic achievement as compared with "peer" schools, and 58 percent against similar state schools, according to the online report.

"We made major modifications at the start of the 12-13 school year at Bedwell Elementary School in math by adopting a new textbook series that addresses the [new] Common Core" educational standards, Miller said in an email this week. Teachers have been implementing the new math program since September and are continuing to receive professional development, he added.

"Students’ academic performance remains a top priority for every staff member in The Somerset Hills School District," Miller said the email.
 
In the area of language arts literacy, the school district this year has expanded a partnership with Columbia University as part of their Teachers College Readers/Writers Workshop Program, Miller said in an email, noting a subject that has been discussed at previous school board meetings.

Many elementary teachers have attended this training and will continue to do so over the summer and into next school year, Miller said. 

"The administrators and I will continue to review the data that has been presented by the Department of Education to ensure that the instruction at Bedwell addresses the needs of our students," Miller said this week.