comment on report card
Monmouth Regional
students make the grade
School administrators unavailable for
comment on report card
BY ELAINE VANDEVELDE
Staff Writer
In comparison to other area high schools, Monmouth Regional High School’s state report card made an average grade in the 2002-03 school year, with some overall improvements from 2001-02. The only thing that is significantly higher than state average in the district is its faculty’s average salary of $59,050, compared to a state median salary of $50,000.
With an average classroom size of 19.2, just under the state’s average of 19.3, Monmouth Regional students had an increased enrollment of 32 students from 2001-02 to 2002-03. The vast majority of the student body, or 98.3 percent speaks English as a first language.
High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) tests showed that the district has above average proficiency in language arts literacy, and a slightly higher than state average in mathematics. Monmouth Regional’s proficiency percentage in language arts stayed level at 72.1 for both 2001-02 and 2002-03, while the state’s average went down a little from 66.3 percent in 2001-02 to 65 percent in 2002-03. The district factor group (DFG), schools with a similar economic profile, showed a proficiency in the subject of 68.2 percent in 2002-03 and 70.2 in 2001-02.
Math HSPA proficiency percentages were lower overall. For the 2002-03 school year students showed a 48.9 percent proficiency in math, while in 2001-02 it was a little higher, at 53.6. The state’s average was 46.4 percent in 2002-03 as opposed to a higher 49.5 percent in 2001-02.
With a 98.3 percent high school graduation rate, the average SAT score for the school in math was 526 and 499 for verbal while HSPA showed higher proficiency in language arts and less in math. Still, the high school kept a little above the state’s averages of 518 in math and a point lower than the state’s 500 average for verbal.
The school has 20 percent of its students in advanced placement classes, while the state average is 15.8 percent. Of 190 students in AP classes, 152 took AP tests. In the class of 2003 at Monmouth Regional, 52.2 percent went on to four-year colleges and 32 percent went on to two-year colleges.
Officials with the district did not return phone calls seeking comment last week and when a reporter contacted the school again for comment on Tuesday she was told the administrator would not be available to respond to questions.