Wantage schools fail to meet assessment goals

SUSSEX BOROUGH — Sussex-Wantage Regional School District Superintendent Jeanne Apryasz reported that Wantage and Sussex Middle School did not meet their schoolwide goals for English/Language Arts on last spring's New Jersey Proficiency Assessment of State Standards tests.

The district also did not meet its goals for the subgroups of disabilities and economic factors.

The administration is implementing a performance action plan to address deficiencies in the schools.

However, the Wantage School did meet officials schoolwide goals for math, along with the sub group goals for: disabilities and economic factors.

Sussex Middle School met their school-wide goals in math, but did not meeet the math goals in the sub group of disabilities. However the school met its goals in the subgroup of economic factors.

School Board member Lisa Frisbie, asked if next year's goals will be increased in 2 percent increments, especially above the math level which the schools just met.

Apryasz said the students will transition to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test, and that the State Board of Education sets the targets per year. Those were the targets for 2014.

“So we don't know what they will expect of us next year, Frisbie said.

Frisbie said she was looking for levels of “levels of success, proficiency, and the ability to compare apples to apples. Especially after the students are acclimated to a new platform.”

More state mandates, less recommendations

Board of Education Vice President Janice Mezier notified the board of a conversation she recently had with Apryasz. Now there are “more mandates that we don't have too much control over,” because of a change in the state code. “We do not have a choice. We must do this.”

School board president Thomas card says the board needs to adapt decision making.

"(There will be) nuances to things," Frisbie said. "We can make additions and clarify for our community (but) major portions must be compliant to the law.”

Card said if the district was not compliant, it would lsoe state funding.