Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • April 24, 2013 Mahwah Township’s school district receives report cards by Frank J. McMahon The Mahwah School District has received the new 2011-12 school year report cards issued by the New Jersey Department of Education. The report cards cover the district’s six schools and include brand new data on academic achievement, college and career readiness, and graduation and post-secondary performance for the high school. The report cards also include data on the academic achievement, college and career readiness, and student growth for the Joyce Kilmer School, which contains grades four and five, and for the Ramapo Ridge Middle School, which contains grades six, seven, and eight. In addition, the report cards include information concerning the academic achievement and college and career readiness of the Lenape Meadows Elementary School, which contains pre-K through grade three; the George Washington School, which contains kindergarten through grade three; and the Betsy Ross School, which also contains kindergarten through grade three. A new feature of the report cards is the comparison of the schools to their “peer schools” in order to provide a more complete picture of school performance for educators and the general public. The NJDOE advised that the peer school methodology compares schools to approximately 30 similar schools from across the state with similar grade configurations and which are educating students with similar demographic characteristics, such as free/reduced lunch eligibility, limited English proficiency, or special education program participation. The data provides information about how similar schools are performing to help identify strengths and areas for improvement. “These new school performance reports were developed with the input of stakeholders across the state and provide a significant amount of new data to present a more complete picture of school performance,” said Commissioner of Education Chris Cerf. “We hope this data will ‘(B)y focusing on college and career readiness and including meaningful comparisons for schools, we hope that these new reports will inform conversations at the local level about where schools are doing well and where they can continue to improve.’ -- Bari Erlichson. help schools and stakeholders engage in local goal setting and improvement to help all students graduate from high school ready for college and career.” The report cards also contain detailed statistical profiles of the schools, including enrollment data, Advanced Placement test participation and results, SAT participation and results, graduation rates, student to staff ratios, and the names of the schools included in each school’s peer group. “While the evaluation of student outcome data is crucial for school improvement, we know that these data alone cannot capture the dozens of other essential elements of schools such as a positive school climate, participation in extracurricular programs and the development of non-cognitive skills,” said Chief Performance Officer Bari Erlichson. “However, by focusing on college and career readiness and including meaningful comparisons for schools, we hope that these new reports will inform conversations at the local level about where schools are doing well and where they can continue to improve.” The report cards can be viewed in their entirety on the NJDOE website: http://education.state.nj.us/pr/. The basic ratings of the township’s schools according to the NJDOT are listed below. The academic performance of the high school was rated “high” when compared to schools across the state, and “about average” in comparison to peer schools. The college and career readiness was also rated “high” when compared to schools across the state and when compared to peer schools. The school’s graduation and post-secondary performance was rated “about average” when compared to schools across the state, but the school “lags” in comparison to its peers. The academic performance of the Ramapo Ridge Middle School was rated “very high” when compared to schools across the state and in comparison to its peers. The college and career readiness was also rated “very high” when compared to schools across the state and when compared to its peers. The school’s student growth performance was rated “very high” when compared to schools across the state and “high” in comparison to its peers. The academic performance of the Joyce Kilmer School was rated “high” when compared to schools across the state and in comparison to its peers. The school’s college and career readiness was rated “very high” in comparison to schools across the state and to its peers. The school’s student growth performance was rated “about average” when compared to schools across the state, and “high” in comparison to its peer schools. The academic performance of the Lenape Meadows School was rated “very high” when compared to schools across the state and “high” in comparison to its peers. However, the school’s college and career readiness “lags” in comparison to schools across the state and “significantly lags ” when compared to its peers. The academic performance of the George Washington School was rated “very high” when compared to schools across the state and “high” in comparison to its peers. The school’s college and career readiness was rated “very high” when compared to schools across the state, and “about average” when compared to its peers. The academic performance of Betsy Ross School was rated “very high” when compared to schools across the state and to its peers. The school’s college and career readiness was also rated “very high” compared to schools across the state, and “about average” compared to its peers.