By Donald Gilpin

In an environment of national concern over the disastrous effects of the pandemic on students’ education, standardized testing data from Princeton Public Schools (PPS) indicates that local students are continuing to excel, performing well above state averages.

Although New Jersey students did better than students in most other states, students in almost all states throughout the country saw significant declines in both math and reading, according to results released Monday on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which tests fourth and eighth graders and is known as the nation’s report card.

PPS administrators, however, had a different story to tell in their presentation last week to the PPS Board of Education, based on standardized testing results just released from the New Jersey Department of Education.

“There is much to celebrate here,” said Elementary Education Supervisor Sarah Moore, as quoted in a PPS press release. “The key takeaway is that we had very few elementary students who did not meet or surpass expectations.”

Presentation coordinator Kimberly Tew, PPS assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, noted that “while there is always room to improve,” scores had mostly risen over the past three years. “When you look at scores from 2022 and compare them to 2019, we see numbers trending in a positive direction with a few exceptions,” she said.

Many standardized tests were not offered in New Jersey in 2020 and 2021, so most districts are comparing the most recent scores to data from 2019.

“It’s an interesting comparison,” said Tew. “These are two very different cohorts of students and the data we are looking at now reflects what happened to students who had their education interrupted by the pandemic.”

Several department supervisors presented specific parts of the test results, and “across the board, supervisors and administrators said they were pleased that PPS students scored well on the standardized tests,” according to the PPS press release.

Tew pointed out some data on third graders, some middle school scores, and other areas that the district was “watching,” and supervisors proposed suggestions for improvements in many areas, during the course of their 80-slide presentation.

Tew has been in communication with a number of other districts around the state, and she noted, “There are many districts that have seen a drop below state averages in student performance. Princeton Public Schools is not among them.”

Included in the results recently released were SAT and ACT scores for college-bound students, AP test results, New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA) scores, English Language Learner ACCESS scores, and information about students with Individual Education Programs (IEP) and 504 accommodations.

“We have a great deal of new information and this is the very first time the public has had the opportunity to look at the current numbers,” said Tew. “This is an opportunity for parents and community members to take a deep dive into actual current data.”

The data presented last week showed Princeton High School (PHS) students with the highest ACT scores in five years and average SAT scores (combined math, reading, and writing) about 300 points above the national average and about 200 points above the New Jersey average score. PHS students’ AP scores were better than last year’s average, with 48 percent of PHS students taking an AP exam, more than 88 percent of the test takers earning a score of 3 or higher, and about 40 percent earning the highest score of 5.

“The high scores that PPS students attained are a huge testament to our students, our staff, and our families,” said Tew. “Other high-performing districts saw scores that declined below the state average while PPS schools had a remarkably strong performance.”