How did West Orange students perform on New Jersey exams? See Latest School Data

WEST ORANGE, NJ – West Orange public school students are “meeting or exceeding expectations” in several learning categories, although test scores in other areas lag behind the state average, administrators recently reported.

Eveny de Mendez, the district’s assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, presented at the Board of Education’s Nov. 11 meeting about the latest round of state assessments.

The presentation covered the results of the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA) and the 2024 Dynamic Learning Map.

The following NJSLA data compares West Orange’s average to the state average (with percentages of students who “met or exceeded expectations”):

Math grades 3 to 5

• West Orange – Algebra I (35%); Algebra II (33.3%); Geometry (72%)
• State – Algebra I (39.5%); Algebra II (58.9%); Geometry (49%)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS (ELA), GRADES 3 TO 5

• West Orange – Grade 3 (59.1%); Grade 4 (65.1%); Grade 5 (65.5%)
• State – grade 3 (43.6%); Grade 4 (50.8%); Grade 5 (52.2%)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS (ELA), GRADES 6 TO 9

• West Orange – Grade 6 (66.3%); Grade 7 (53.5%); grade 8 (59.6%); Grade 9 (60.3%)
• State – Grade 6 (53.2%); Grade 7 (54%); Grade 8 (52.9%); Grade 9 (58%)

SCIENCE

• West Orange – Grade 5 (41.2%); grade 8 (27.7%); Grade 11 (26.5%)
• State – grade 5 (27.6%); grade 8 (18.8%); Grade 11 (28.1%)

De Mendez pointed to several bright spots in the data, saying West Orange consistently outperforms the state in math grades 3 through 5. However, the district’s grades 6 through 8 math scores are “currently below expectations” — a challenge that other districts across the state and nation are also experiencing.

Several board members asked questions following the presentation, including Dia Bryant.

“I will be generous and say that the mathematical results are sobering and leave me with some questions about the path forward,” commented Bryant.

Check out footage from the November 11th meeting below (Video is aligned with the presentation).

Send local news tips and correction requests to [email protected]. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Learn how to post announcements or events to your local patch site.