Toms River presents 2022–23 performance report; some schools enter targeted-support status

District curriculum staff walked the board through the 2022–23 school performance report at a March 27 curriculum committee meeting, reviewing student-growth percentiles (SGPs), statewide proficiency, graduation rates and chronic absenteeism, and explaining how those measures feed into state accountability classifications.

Student growth and proficiency: Presenter Rich Fos said the districts 2022–23 median growth percentiles were 41 in English language arts and 47 in mathematics (40 is defined as typical growth and 65+ is considered exceeding). He also reviewed proficiency rates, noting the districts 2022–23 ELA proficiency around 42.7% against a state annual target of about 56.8%, and said many districts remain below targets that the state did not change after COVID-related testing disruptions.

Graduation and federal vs. state measures: Staff explained there are separate state and federal graduation-rate measures and that some policy choices (for example, a 2023 waiver of certain assessment requirements) affected cohorts cited in the report. Presenters said the federal graduation rate is used for accountability and can differ from the state rate because of exemptions (for example, some IEP-related exemptions noted in the state rate but counted differently in the federal rate).

Targeted support designations and absenteeism: Curriculum staff said four schools will carry targeted-support classifications next school year: two schools will be in Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) categories (three-year status) and two are in Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), which can be exited after one year by meeting specified measures. The transcript identifies High School South for the African-American subgroup and a school transcribed as "West do" elementary for the Hispanic subgroup as receiving additional targeted support; staff also described recent district work that has reduced chronic absenteeism in several grades.

Interventions: Board members pressed for interventions and asked whether the district could provide more granular graduation-rate breakdowns by community and by subgroup; curriculum staff said they would attempt to provide a community-level breakdown on request. Mrs Morrison renewed a pitch for a two-year algebra bridge program for students behind in mathematics; curriculum staff said they are developing a two-year approach (internal reference in the presentation: "math N9") to provide extra instructional time and interventions at the middle-school level.

What happens next: Staff said schools will continue to develop annual school plans outlining strategies and timelines to address identified weaknesses, and that performance reports and related resources will be posted on the district website.