Mahwah Student Test Scores Outpace State, Still More Needs To Be Done: District Officials

MAHWAH, NJ — Although Mahwah students outperformed students across the state in every content area on the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment, school district officials said that the data also showed the need for growth.

Perhaps the most concerning, the state test results indicated, were Grade 8 Mathematics, Grade 6 English Language Arts and Grade 5 Science, and officials said they are planning targeted academic interventions to reduce gaps in knowledge and meet students' needs.

79% of eighth graders who took the grade-level Math assessment (and are not in Accelerated Algebra 1 or Geometry) are not meeting grade-level expectations, the results showed. Still, Mahwah's eighth-grade proficiency in Math did surpass the state's by 6%.

On the other hand, 64% of Algebra 1 students and 78% of Geometry students (Both of these cohorts include eighth graders.), approximately 30% above the state averages, met or exceeded expectations.

Supervisor of Mathematics 6-12 Danielle Poleway, who presented the Math scores at the school board meeting last week, said that the district is taking an in-depth look at curriculum and where adjustments might need to be made, and identifying sub-targets within Math that need more attention.

For the Grade 6 ELA assessment, 62% of students met or exceeded expectations, 14% above the state average — which, while still outperforming, represents the smallest difference between the district and state in ELA scores assessed from grades 3 to 9.

Finally, 29% of fifth graders who took the Science assessment were rated proficient, still 3.5% above the state average yet not what the district expected, Mahwah Schools Supervisor of Science 6-12 Dennis Jarvis said, in presenting the ELA and Science scores also at the school board meeting.

Due in part to the lack of in-person instruction, the Science scores were lower than expected, he said.

"But the reality is that these are our results," Jarvis said. "We accept them, and, as a science supervisor, it is my commitment that we are going to put in the work to improve them."

He noted also that Grade 8 Science scores held steady since 2019, when the last assessment was given, and Grade 11 Science scores saw an increase. Both sets of scores were also roughly 15% above the state averages.

Both Poleway and Jarvis said that the district is focused on improving student achievement, especially in view of the impacts on learning caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and will set targeted strategies to boost scores in the coming years.