INTRODUCTION
In 1995, the New Jersey State Legislature mandated
the New Jersey School Report Card in N.J.S.A. 18A:7E 1-5. The
law outlines the fields of information that are required at a minimum,
including the school narrative.
This report card issued in February 2004 contains
data for the 2002-03 school year. Enrollment numbers are based on the
October 15, 2002 district enrollment count. The information in the
report card is school-level data, except for the finance section which
contains district-level information. For charter schools, however,
the finance section is school-level. Unless otherwise stated, the source
of the information contained in the New Jersey School Report Card is
the school district or the charter school.
As you use the school report card, there are several
general practices and definitions that are used throughout the document.
They are as follows:
- SUPPRESSION: In reporting any type of assessment
results, an asterisk indicates that the data were suppressed for
any group of students that numbered ten or less in order to protect
privacy. Test data are also suppressed where the failure rate is
100%, including all other data related to it.
- ZERO: A zero in a data field in most cases means that there is no data to report for that field for this report card year. However, due to variations in the data collection software, there may be exceptions to this general rule.
- BLANK: A blank in most cases means this data item does not apply to this school. However, due to variations in the data collection software, there may be exceptions to this general rule.
- STATE AVERAGE: Unless otherwise stated in the definitions, state averages are computed for the following school types: vocational schools; Special Services School Districts/special education schools; all elementary schools (regular and charter); or all secondary schools (regular, comprehensive, and charter).
- FACULTY: In fields that refer to faculty, this
term includes classroom teachers and educational support services
personnel such as guidance counselors and librarians.
- ADMINISTRATORS: In fields that refer to administrators,
this term includes the certificated personnel such as the superintendent,
assistant superintendents, school business administrator, principals,
assistant principals, supervisors, non-supervisory coordinators,
and directors.
REPORT CARD FIELDS
The following definitions explain what the data
in the various report card fields represent:
SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
Average Class Size
Average class size for elementary schools (PreK-8)
is based on the enrollment per grade divided by the total number of
classrooms for that grade. For elementary, the state average is the
statewide total enrollment for each grade divided by the statewide
total number of classrooms in that grade.
Average Class size for secondary schools (9-12)
is based on the total enrollment per grade divided by the total number
of English classes for the same grade. For secondary, the state average
is the total enrollment for each grade divided by the total number
of English classes for the same grade.
For Special Services School Districts and Special
Education Schools, average class size is calculated by dividing the
total enrollment by the total number of classrooms. In schools where
there is special education enrollment but a zero for class size, it
means that all of the students are mainstreamed in regular classrooms.
Length of School Day
This is the amount of time a school is in session
for a typical student on a normal school day.
Instructional Time
This is the amount of time per day that a typical
student is engaged in instructional activities under the supervision
of a certified teacher.
Student/Computer Ratio
This is calculated by dividing the total enrollment
by the total number of computers that are used for instruction.
Internet Connectivity
This
shows the percentages of room locations in school that are wired for
the Internet and where students’ use
of the Internet is monitored. This is calculated by dividing the number
of rooms with Internet connections by the total number of rooms.
Length of School Year (charter schools only)
This includes the number of days that school is
in session for students.
Parent Involvement Programs and Activities (charter
schools only)
This includes programs and activities during a school
year that promote and foster parent and community participation and
involvement.
School Waiting List (charter schools only)
The list contains numbers of students who are waiting
for openings in the charter school roster.
School Classrooms (charter schools only)
This is the number of classrooms in the school.
STUDENT INFORMATION
Enrollment by Grade
Enrollment
is the October 15 count as reported on the department’s 2002 Fall
Survey collected from each school. The enrollment is reported by grade-level
for regular and charter schools.
For Special Services School Districts and Special Education Schools,
the enrollment is reported by class description. For vocational schools,
the enrollment is reported by grade level with the addition of shared-time
and full-time.
Students with Disabilities
This shows the percentage of students with an Individualized
Education Program (IEP), including speech, reading and math, regardless
of placement and programs. This is calculated by dividing the total
number of students with IEPs by the total enrollment.
Language Diversity
These are the percents of students in the school
by first language spoken at home. The list includes up to seven languages
in descending order of frequency plus all others. This is calculated
by dividing the number of students who speak a given language by the
total enrollment. There is a calculation for each language listed including
English and all others.
Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students
This is the percentage of LEP students in the school.
It is calculated by dividing the total number of students who are in
limited English proficient programs by the total enrollment.
Student Mobility Rate
This is the percentage of students who entered and
left during the school year. The calculation is derived by the sum
of students entering and leaving after the October enrollment count
divided by the total enrollment.
Student Participation (charter schools only)
This is the percentage of students who participate
in before- or after-school programs or activities. Students are only
counted for one activity which provides an unduplicated count. The
number is calculated by dividing the unduplicated participation count
by the total enrollment.
STUDENT PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Assessments
Performance
on State Tests – High School
Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment
(GEPA), Elementary Proficiency Assessment (ESPA) and New Jersey Assessment
of Skills and Knowledge 4 (NJASK4)
The statewide assessment
system comprises state tests that are designed to measure student progress
in the attainment
of the Core Curriculum Content Standards. Under state law, testing
is required at three levels – grades four, eight, and eleven.
The test results in this report card reflect the state testing requirements
and constitute the state assessment summary for all students and the
various subgroups for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB),
states are required to assess student progress in language arts and
math in grades 3-8. The Department of Education is currently under
contract for assessments to be developed in the grades where there
is no state testing currently.
In this report card, the data for the fourth-grade
test come from the former Elementary School Proficiency Assessment
(ESPA) that was last administered in the spring of 2002 and the New
Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge 4 (NJASK4) that was administered
for the first time in the spring of 2003.
Schools that have grade eight have administered
the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA) in language arts, math,
and science.
High schools show assessment results from two administrations
of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), the test that students
must pass in order to graduate from high school. Prior to the 2001-02
school year, the state administered the High School Proficiency Test
which has been replaced by the HSPA, a more rigorous test aligned with
the revised Core Curriculum Content Standards.
The data presented in this report card will differ
slightly from the data in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reports required
by federal law to be issued prior to the opening of school. The NCLB
reports show assessment results after the application of NCLB rules
for the purpose of calculating adequate yearly progress (AYP) and identifying
schools in need of improvement. The February assessment results have
had no restrictions applied to them. These results are the state summary
results for all students that also have been disaggregated for various
subgroups.
State assessments
are implemented with the assistance of test contractors who collect
and tally the student-level
data. The
results are distributed to local districts that have an opportunity
to correct any errors. The Department of Education’s Office of
Evaluation and Assessment conducts the final quality control of all
test data and is the source of the assessment results for the New Jersey
School Report Card.
Graduation Type
This shows the percentages of students who met or
otherwise satisfied the state testing requirements for graduation in
several ways.
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)
The Scholastic Assessment Test is a voluntary test
administered by the College Board, usually for the purpose of college
admission. The percentile scores are the average scores of the students
whose performance places them along a range from 1-99. The score listed
under the 25th percentile means that a quarter of the students’ scores
fell below that point and the rest were above. Under the 50th percentile,
half of the students’ scores fell above that score and half fell
below. In the 75th percentile, a quarter of the students’ scores
were above that score and the rest were below. The source of the data
is the Educational Testing Service.
Advanced Placement (AP)
This data is furnished by the College Board for
students who have taken an advanced placement exam. It shows the classes
offered at the school, the numbers of students in each class and the
numbers who took the test for the course. The total who scored 3 or
greater on the tests is a duplicated number which means that a single
student may be counted more than once in this total if the student
took more than one test and scored 3 or above.
Advanced Placement Summary Data
The percentage of students taking Advanced Placement
courses is calculated by dividing the number of students who took at
least one AP test by the total number of students enrolled in grades
11 and 12 based on the October count.
National Occupational Competency Testing Institute
(NOCTI) (vocational)
The NOCTI develops
and administers national job-ready examinations that include both
written and performance tests that measure
a student’s knowledge and skills for entry into an occupational
field. The number of students taking the tests is listed, along with
school and state average scores for written and performance tests.
Other Performance Measures-
Student Attendance Rate
These are the grade-level percentages of students
on average who are present at school each day. They are calculated
by dividing the sum of days present in each grade level by the sum
of possible days for all students in each grade. The school and state
totals are the sum of days present in all applicable grade levels divided
by the total possible days for all students.
Dropout Rate (secondary only)
These are the percentages of students who dropped
out of grades 9-12 presented by various subgroups. The percentages
are calculated by dividing the number of students in grade 9 through
12 who dropped out of school during the period of July to June each
school year by the October enrollment reported for grades 9 through
12.
Graduation Rate (secondary only)
The
graduation rate for schools with seniors is calculated by
the formula contained in the approved Accountability
Workbook for New Jersey. Based on the National Center for Education
Statistics’ definition, this calculation provides an estimate
for the cohort of students that began high school four years ago.
The calculation is derived by taking the number
of school-year graduates plus the summer graduates following the school
year and dividing by a combination of the following:
School year plus summer graduates plus number of
grade 9 dropouts four years prior, plus number of grade 10 dropouts
three years prior, plus number of grade 11 dropouts two years prior,
plus number of grade 12 dropouts for this report card year. The product
is then multiplied by 100 to get the graduation rate.
Post-Graduation Plans (secondary only for regular
high schools and vocational high schools)
These are percentages of graduating seniors who
are pursuing various self-reported post-high school plans. For vocational
schools, these percentages are for full-time students. The calculations
are derived by dividing the number of respondents in each category
by the total graduates.
Student Suspensions
These are percentages of students who were suspended
at least once during the school year. Students suspended more than
one time are counted once. The percents are calculated by dividing
the total number suspended by the total enrollment.
Student Expulsions
These are percentages of students who were expelled
from the school during the year. The percents are calculated by dividing
the total number expelled by the total enrollment.
Completion Data (vocational schools only)
These are the percentages of students who successfully
completed an occupational program by their enrollment status. This
is calculated by dividing the number of students in each enrollment
status by the total graduates.
STAFF INFORMATION
Student/Faculty Ratio
This is the number of students per faculty member.
It is calculated by dividing the reported October school enrollment
by the combined full-time equivalents (FTEs) of classroom teachers
and educational support services personnel assigned to the school in
October of the school year.
Faculty Attendance Rate
This is the average daily attendance for the faculty
of the school. It is calculated by dividing the total number of days
present by the total number of days contracted for all faculty members.
Student/Administrator Ratio
This is the number of students per administrator
in the school. It is calculated by dividing the total school enrollment
in October by the number of administrators reported in full-time equivalents
(FTEs). Where a single administrator has responsibility for more than
one school, the FTE may represent the administrator as less than one.
Faculty Credentials (vocational schools, charter
schools, and special education)
These are percentages of faculty members in the
school who hold an academic degree and/or a license or certification
in October of each school year.
Administrator and Faculty Degrees (regular elementary
and secondary schools)
These are the percentages of administrators and
faculty in the school possessing an academic degree(s) as of October
each year. They are calculated by dividing the numbers of each academic
degree by the total number of faculty and administrators.
National Board Certification
This shows the number of teachers who applied for
and the number who achieved certification by the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards during the school year. This rigorous
certification is encouraged, but not required.
Highly Qualified Teacher Information
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, the classroom
teachers must meet new standards to retain or achieve certification.
This explains what the requirements are for being a highly qualified
teacher, and it reports the percent of teachers who are teaching with
emergency or conditional certificates.
Faculty Turnover Rate (charter schools only)
This represents the rate that faculty members come
and go during the school year. It is calculated by using the number
of faculty who entered or left employment in the school after October
15 divided by the total number of faculty reported as of that same
date.
DISTRICT FINANCIAL DATA
This section containing
the financial data is district-level information for all schools except
charter schools. Charter schools
are public schools that are operated under a charter granted by the
Commissioner. The school is independent of the school district and
managed by a board of trustees. In accordance with charter school law,
the school district of residence must pay directly to the charter school,
for each student enrolled in the charter school who resides in the
district, an amount equal to the lower of either 90% of the program
budget per pupil for the specific grade level in the district or 90%
of the maximum Thorough and Efficient (T&E) amount under the finance
law.
The per-pupil amount
paid to the charter school cannot exceed the program budget per pupil
for
the specific grade level
in the district in which the school is located. The district of residence
must also pay directly to the charter school any categorical aid attributable
to the student, provided the student is receiving appropriate categorical
services. For any student enrolled in a charter school in which 90%
of the program budget per pupil for the specific grade level is greater
than 90% of the maximum T&E amount, the state must pay the difference
between the two amounts.
The financial information for the charter schools
shows school average compared to charter average, while all other school
report cards show district average compared to a state average for
districts of a similar operating type statewide as is used in the Comparative
Spending Guide. http://www.state.nj.us/njded/guide/2003/
Administrative and Faculty Personnel (for all
but charter schools)
These include the number of administrators in the
district reported in FTEs in October of each year, the number of schools
in the districts, the ratio of students to administrators, and the
ratio of faculty to administrators in the district. Similar information
at the school level is shown earlier in this report card. Administrators
include certificated administrative personnel in the central office,
principals and school administrators -- both supervisory and non-supervisory.
The number of faculty per administrator is calculated by dividing the
combined FTE of classroom teachers and educational support personnel
by the FTE of administrators as reported in October.
Median Salary and Years of Experience of Administrative
and Faculty Personnel
This contains the median salary -- half of the salaries
are above the median and half are below -- for both administrators
and faculty. It also contains the median years of experience based
on total number of years in public education.
Teacher Salaries and Benefits
Total teacher salaries and benefits are represented
as a percent of total expenditures for this category as reported in
the Per-Pupil Expenditure section that follows. The percent increase
or decrease represents the change in expenditures in teacher salaries/benefits
from one year to the next.
Administrative Salaries and Benefits
Total administrative salaries and benefits are represented
as a percent of total expenditures for this category as reported in
the Per-Pupil Expenditure section that follows. The percent increase
or decrease represents the change in expenditures in administrator
salaries/benefits from one year to the next.
Revenues
This presents the total revenues from various sources
reflecting the combination of the ways districts are funded through
local taxes, state aid, federal aid, and other sources, such local
district surplus and tuition income.
District/Charter Budgets and Per-pupil Expenditures
There are two district-wide costs per pupil amounts
for three years that correspond with the rest of the data in the report
card. First is the Comparative Cost Per Pupil that represents comparisons
with districts of similar operating type. The components that comprise
the comparative cost per pupil are as follows: classroom instructional
costs; support services (attendance and social work, health services,
guidance office, child study team, library and other educational media);
administrative costs (general administration, school administration,
business administration, and improvement of instruction); operations/maintenance
of plant; food services, and extracurricular costs. The total of these
expenditures is divided by the average daily enrollment for a total
comparative cost per pupil.
Second is the Total Cost Per Pupil which, in addition
to all of the costs listed above for the comparative cost, includes
costs for tuition expenditures; transportation; other current expenses
(lease purchase interest, residential costs, and judgments against
schools); equipment; facilities/acquisition; and restricted expenses
less nonpublic services and adult schools, as well as students sent
out of district. The total of these expenditures is divided by the
average daily enrollment for a total cost per pupil.
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