EDITOR:

Recently the State of New Jersey released the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA) scores for all of New Jersey’s schools. Composite results were printed in various newspapers and the results of local schools were highlighted in the Echoes-Sentinel. At this time citizens may be asking themselves, “What is the GEPA?” “Why do students take this test?” and “How should the results of any particular school be interpreted?” As principal of one of the local middle schools, Central Middle School in Stirling, I would like to address these questions publicly for the benefit of the readers of this newspaper.

Several years ago the New Jersey State Department of Education instituted a high school proficiency test for all students in New Jersey public high schools. Many iterations of this test were realized beginning in 1981-82 with the Minimum Basic Skills Test. At that time the test was administered to ninth graders, who were required to pass the test as one of the requirements for a high school diploma. A new version of the test was adopted in 1983 called the High School Proficiency Test (HSPT9). In 1988 a law was passed which moved the test from the 9th to the 11th grade. Students still had to “pass” this test in order to graduate from high school. Shortly after creating the HSPT the department of education created the Early Warning Test. This test was administered to all 8th graders. The results of this test were used to determine which students were at a risk of not passing the HSPT when they became juniors in high school. Once these students were identified, schools would be able to remediate them so that they could achieve a passing score on the HSPT.

The Constitution of the State of New Jersey guarantees that children will receive a “Thorough and Efficient” education. There are approximately 600 school districts in New Jersey each of which determines its own curriculum. How can the state ensure a “Thorough and Efficient” education in light of such diversity? 1996 the New Jersey Department of Education adopted the Core Curriculum Content Standards. This document contained sets of proficiencies, or benchmarks, which students were to achieve in each of eight academic content areas at the completion of their years in New Jersey public schools. According to the introduction of the document, “Core Curriculum Content Standards are an attempt to define the meaning of ‘Thorough’ in the context of the 1875 state constitutional guarantee that students would be educated within a Thorough and Efficient system of free public schools. They describe what all students should know and be able to do upon completion of a thirteen-year public education.” The introduction further reads, “These standards are not meant to serve as a statewide curriculum guide. They define the results expected but do not limit district strategies for how to ensure that their students achieve these expectations.”

What is the relationship between the Core Curriculum and the state-wide testing program? After the adoption of the Core Curriculum the tests, HSPT and EWT, began to take on new purposes. In fact, their names changed to High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) and Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA) respectively. In addition, another test was added at the elementary level called the Elementary School Proficiency Assessment (ESPA). The results of the tests could now be used to determine the extent to which a school district had tailored its curriculum to match the Core Curriculum which had been adopted by the state.

When the results of the state-wide testing program are published in the newspapers each year readers use the information to compare schools in their home towns to those of other towns and to compare a school’s results from one year to the next. It is altogether natural to do this. However, I would advise readers to proceed with caution when using the results of the state-wide testing program for these purposes. Essentially the test results should be used to judge the extent to which a school is meeting the Core Curriculum and to help the school to plan for the remediation of those students who do not “pass.” There are many factors which contribute to the overall effectiveness of a school. How well a school scores on standardized testing is only one. Furthermore, there are many factors which contribute to a school’s success on the state-mandated standardized testing.

In recent weeks I have been contacted by several people about Central School’s GEPA scores. Principals, supervisors, citizens from neighboring towns and newspaper reporters have called to find out why our scores on the GEPA are so high. It is true. Our scores in all three of the areas tested, science, mathematics, and language arts literacy are among the highest in the state. In fact, in the area of language arts literacy, our scores were the highest in the state for the last two administrations of the GEPA. I am extremely proud of this fact, as the entire community should be. In speaking to these various individuals I have attributed our success to the following factors, excellent instruction in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade which is aligned with the Core Curriculum, the use of GEPA preparation materials which reinforce the curriculum and prepare students for the rigors of the GEPA with GEPA-like questions, the fact that students experience 80 minutes per day of instruction in reading and language arts, the seriousness with which we as a school approach the test, the conscientiousness of our students, and importance that parents place upon the academic success of their children.

The informed reader should note that scores will change from year to year. A swing of less than five percentage points in either direction probably does not indicate anything more than the normal fluctuation. Citizens should also be aware that regardless of when a student enters the 8th grade, as long as it is before the GEPA, he must take the test and his scores become part of the school’s composite. Is it reasonable to expect a student who transfers in to 8th grade in a New Jersey public school from another country, or state to have mastered our state’s curriculum? Probably not, particularly if he has transferred after the school year has begun. In a school with less than one hundred 8th graders, two or three students’ scores can skew the results significantly in the eyes of a casual observer.

The state reports standardized tests results to school districts in a booklet which lists the schools according to District Factor Grouping (DFG). There are eight DFG’s; A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J. The labels indicate the socioeconomic status of the communities in which the schools are operated. “A” is the lowest, “J” the highest. When one studies the results of the GEPA state-wide perhaps the most important factor is painfully evident. That is, there is a definite correlation between socioeconomic status and a school district’s scores on ESPA, GEPA and HSPA. Long Hill is an “I” district as are Warren and Watchung Boro. The amount of state aid a school district receives is determined by the district’s DFG. State aid to Long Hill has remained level for the last three years. Effectively, this is a decrease for our district given the rising costs of utilities and health care. Nevertheless, given the tremendous community support that our school district enjoys I am sure that Central School students will continue to shine when it comes to performance on the GEPA.