Test Scores Show Paramus Students Mainly Above Average

Recent test score analysis shows that Paramus school students continue to score well above average when compared with similar districts on most grade levels.

However there are a few areas where the recent test scores show a decline in proficiency from last year to this year and school administrators say they are taking a close look at what factors may be involved in order to implement a plan of action with which to move forward.

Sean Adams, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, was joined by Gail Wiser, supervisor of elementary education, in a presentation Monday night before the Paramus Board of Education which detailed how students fare on these state tests and how the district uses these results towards curriculum improvement.  

Using the state’s NJASK test for the elementary grades and the state HSPA test for the high school, the administrators showed charts which compared Paramus against its district factor group, other schools deemed similar based on socioecomic and demographic standards.

They also showed results for the SAT, Advanced Placement testing and the new ACT test, with comparisons against the state and the national or global average to show how students are doing at the high school level.

As shown from the charts, Paramus scored above the district factor group in most areas at the elementary level.  However Grade 5 language arts scores, which went up the year before, declined this year. At the Middle School level scores showed growth in most cases except in Grade 7 math.

Wiser explained a number of factors could be involved including changes to the test itself which could have become more rigorous from last year to this year. However through taking a close look at the curriculum they found that improvement is needed at that level and Wiser said they are looking to refine curriculum to bring it up to date.

At Grade 7 they found that the recent change in the math curriculum which may be a contributing factor as it can take time for students to acclimate.

At the high school level students outperformed the district factor group once again in language arts and math. There was a particular increase on the math level, where proficiency rose from 83 percent in 2011 to 89 percent in 2012. 

Several factors contribute to the students success but one of the things he pointed out was how special education students are improving based on recent change to the algebra course which is now split into a two-year course of study rather than one, which they find gives the students more time to perfect the material.

Another success story they pointed to was at the 5^th grade level in math which showed a significant improvement from the previous year. Proficiency level went from 82 percent in 2011 to 90.8 in 2012 which Wiser said can be attributed to a major focus on the math program in the classroom.

Students scored well above the state and national average in math and writing on the SATs however the critical reading component scores show that the administrative team must look further into this and find ways to push students to improve.

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