‘No Surprises:' Start Strong Test Results In Chatham’s Schools

CHATHAM, NJ — With statewide assessments sidelined the past two springs because of COVID, the School District of the Chathams administered “Start Strong” assessments to students.

According to school officials there were “no surprises” about the results.

The assessment, administered this past fall, was designed to identify students in need of support or who were struggling at the start of the school year in certain areas, mainly in grades 4 through 10, though there were 12th graders who took a science assessment.

The results broke down students into three areas: those needing “strong support,” “some" or “less" support, among the three proficiency levels.

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Karen Chase presented the Start Strong Assessments results, with Director of Education, Academic Programming Sean Devine, during the most recent Board of Education meeting.

Students in grades 4 through 10 took the assessment for English Language Arts (ELA), with a math assessment administered to students in grades 4 through 8. For students in grades 6, 9 and 12, they took Geometry, Algebra I, Algebra II and Science assessments.

In English Language Arts, Chatham shows it is “far less in need of strong support” as compared to the state average, Chase said.

There was a small population of students who need “strong support” within the district, but Chase said in nearly every case it was students already in special education programs within the district or who were being targeted for more intervention.

“This wasn’t a big surprise or a shock to us,” she said.

In Mathematics, Chatham’s numbers were more closely aligned to the state’s, particularly for students in Grade 8 and Algebra I students. She said that Grade 8 students tend to struggle more with math and Algebra I students, who had previously been in 8th grade math.

Math results, unlike those for ELA students, were at different levels, which impacted how results appeared, depending on the number of students in each group.

Chase said the State of New Jersey required reporting on subgroups to see if there were significant achievement gaps between populations, including Hispanic, Asian, “two or more” race groups and special education groups. Chatham's results showed no significant learning achievement gaps were found.

Board of Education President Jill Critchley Weber commented after the presentation it was, “No surprise that there were no surprises.”

Long before this assessment, she said there was support offered for students within the district, should they have needed it for any of their school subjects.

Listen to more about the Start Strong Assessments from Superintendent Dr. Michael LaSusa, who introduced it in this clip:

Watch the full clip below with the Start Strong results being presented:

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.