Hillside School Missed Academic Achievement Targets, Says State

A state report found Hillside Elementary School failed to meet its academic achievement targets last year and found achievement gaps among its students.

The New Jersey Department of Education’s “School Performance Reports" showed the school's 626 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in 2011-12 scored below the state targets in academic achievement. 

Total schoolwide proficiency in language arts on the state standardized test New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge was 73.9 percent, below the target of 79.8 percent, and 82.3 percent in math, below the target of 87.6 percent. 

Black and Hispanic students were also found to be lagging behind their white counterparts in schoolwide achievement scores in language arts and math.  

White students schoolwide were 90.6 percent proficient in language arts, compared to 52.8 percent of black students and 62.8 percent of Hispanic students. 

In math, white students were 96.6 percent proficient, compared to 64.1 percent of black students and 74.5 percent of Hispanic students. 

In addition, student achievement gaps on the NJ ASK in grades three, four and five in mathematics surpassed state averages. 

Overall, Hillside School received average to low scores when compared to schools in its "peer group," about 30 similar schools in the state, and schools statewide. 

The school's academic performance was cited as "significantly lagging" when compared to schools across the state — ranking in the bottom 10th percentile — and "about average" compared with schools statewide. 

When it came to college and career readiness, the school met zero percent of its targets, and was "significantly lagging" when compared to its peers schools and "about average" when compared to schools statewide. 

Hillside School students met 100 percent of its academic growth targets, and ranked "above average" when compared to its peer schools and "about average" when compared to schools throughout the state. 

The report, which replaces the state’s annual School Report Card, factors in a host of never-before-used data, such as whether students are on track for college and a career, and the percent of elementary and middle school students chronically absent. 

One of the most significant additions in the report is the “peer school comparisons.” Schools are now compared to about 30 similar “peer schools” from across the state that share comparable student grades, how many students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, English proficiency and students with special needs. 

The following chart is where Hillside Elementary School ranked compared to schools in its peer group and statewide. For example, Hillside School has a statewide percentile rank of 49 when it comes to academic achievement, which means that its students scored higher than 49 percent of all schools statewide in the ranking. 

Demographics

The school population of 626 students in 2011-12 was 47.2 percent white, 34.5 percent black, 9.8 percent Hispanic, 5.4 percent Asian, .3 percent American Indian, .5 percent Pacific Islander and 2.4 percent of two or more races.

The school that year had 75 students with disabilities (16 percent of the school), 33 are economically disadvantaged (7.2 percent of the school), and there were no students with limited English proficiency. 

Montclair Patch will analyse the data from the state for each of Montclair's 11 schools in the coming weeks.

Click here to read Montclair High School's rankings.

Click here to read Bradford Elementary School's rankings. 

Click here to read Charles H. Bullock Jr. Elementary School's rankings. 

Click here to read Edgemont Elementary School's rankings.

Click here to read Glenfield Middle School's rankings.

Click here to read Mt. Hebron Middle School's rankings.

Click here to read Northeast Elementary School's rankings.

Click here to read Renaissance Middle School's rankings.

Click here to read Watchung Elementary School's rankings.