Scores below standards for ESL, special ed. students
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — Low test scores among special education and English as a second language students have the district worried about possible federal penalties.
At last Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting, Deputy Superintendent of Schools Evelyn Ogden gave the board a presentation on recent GEPA (Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment) and HSPT (High School Proficiency Assessment) scores. GEPA tests must be taken by all eighth-graders, while most high school students must pass the HSPT in order to graduate. The board was not pleased to learn the percentages of special education and ESL students who perform well on the tests do not meet state and federal standards. Those groups as a whole were well below the standards.
Ogden said the results could trigger federal penalties, which would mean that any students in a group or school not meeting the standards could request to switch schools and receive individual tutoring. The district would be responsible for the additional expenses.
Results from the GEPA language arts section showed that, of the 121 special education students who took the test, only about 35 percent were considered proficient, while about 65 percent were partially proficient. None of the students tested as advanced proficient.
On the math portion of the test, only about 16 percent of the students were proficient, and two students were advanced proficient. However, nearly 82 percent were only partially proficient.
"In order for New Jersey to be in compliance with the standards-based assessment and accountability systems required under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the state has established new proficiency levels for schools, and identified subgroups of students," according to documents presented to the board. The subgroups include students with learning disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, those in major racial and ethnic groups, and the economically disadvantaged, as well as others.
The federal laws mean New Jersey is requiring that 58 percent of students in any school or subgroup be proficient in the language arts portion of the GEPA. It also requires that 39 percent be proficient in the math section. Those standards will increase every three years until 2014, when the 100-percent level is supposed to be attained.
Failure to meet the new state standards in the last school year or next year, or failure to make adequate "annual yearly progress" for a school or subgroup population will trigger required school improvement actions, the board was told last week. Failure in 2004-05 triggers School Choice and Technical Assistance provisions.
The percentage standards are the same for every district, school and viable subgroup. A viable subgroup is one that has at least 20 students in the school or grade level.
Scores in the HSPT were not much better than the GEPA results.
Of the 97 special education students who took the language arts section of the test, 34 percent were partially proficient, and about 63 percent were proficient. Three students were considered advanced proficient.
In math, the numbers dwindled, as about 70 percent were partially proficient, while only about 27 percent were considered proficient. Three students were advanced proficient.
The state and federal rules require that 73 percent of tested students be proficient in language arts, and 55 percent be proficient in math.
As for ESL students who took the GEPA, nearly 24 percent tested as proficient, while more than 76 percent were partially proficient. No students were advanced proficient.
In math, 40 percent were proficient, and 50 percent were partially proficient. Just two of the students were considered advanced proficient.
On the HSPT, nearly 56 percent of the ESL students were proficient in language arts, while about 44 percent were partially proficient. No students were considered advanced proficient.
In the math portion of the test, about 56 percent were proficient, while more than 44 percent were partially proficient. No students tested as advanced proficient.
"The game has changed considerably," Ogden said of the new rules and penalties. "It’s not a crisis for us, but clearly something we need to address, and will."
Retiring board member Charles King said that, to him, some of the numbers did represent a crisis. While East Brunswick scores may not be bad compared to other districts, he said the results were still "well below our standards."
Ogden said that during the previous year the percentages of special education and ESL students in East Brunswick who were proficient in the tests were comparable to state averages.
She said the district needs a performance objective now in order to increase the number of proficient students by 10 percent for next year.
She said special education students in East Brunswick tend to fare better in the lower grades. The decline begins in sixth grade because the students are not in the same classroom all day.

