BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer
OCEAN — The school report cards for 2003-04 were recently released by the state Department of Education. They show that Ocean Township High School is doing well overall.
Total school enrollment has steadily increased during the last four years, from 1,246 during the 2000-01 academic year to 1,375 for 2003-04.
High school proficiency in language arts has increased since last year, with 78.8 percent proficiency as compared to 71.6 last year. That is more than their District Factor Group (DFG), which scored at 68.2 percent over both years and well above the state average of 65 percent for both years.
The DFG is a classification system created by the state that approximates a community’s socioeconomic status. The DFG ranges from A (Abbott Districts) to J. Ocean Township is in the FG factor group.
As for advanced proficiency in language arts as measured by the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), the percentage of students with advanced proficiency has gone down a bit, from 15.8 percent last year, to 12.5 percent this year. Interestingly, the percentages of high school students in the District Factor Group is higher, at 21.7 percent, but that has gone down a bit too.
Mathematics proficiency, as measured by the HSPA, shows that advanced proficiency has gone up over the past two years in the school and the DFG as well as in the state. The percentage of Ocean Township High School students went up from 28.1 percent to 35 percent, slightly higher that the DFG scores of 31.9 percent this year and 26.4 percent last year. The state figures are lower, with 24.5 percent showing advanced proficiency for 2003-04.
Superintendent of Schools Tom Pagano said that last year they conducted a study on the HSPA testing to see if there is any correlation between students who test poorly with students who have not been in the district for their entire scholastic education.
He said the study showed that there was a correlation in both math and language arts. As a result, the school initiated a plan to address the needs of these students by expanding the math and language arts labs to help those students who need remedial work. They are also making a more concerted effort to identify those students.
On the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), during the 2003-04 school year, Ocean Township High School students had an average score of 537, while the DFG scored 539 and the state average was 516.
Participation in advanced placement classes grew considerably this year. Last year, 23.4 percent of the students took AP classes, where this year 49.2 percent did, which is well above the state average of 28.8 during the 2003-04 school year.
Pagano said there is growing awareness among high school students that taking more rigorous courses expands their potential acceptance level at high performing colleges.
The graduation rate for the 2003-04 academic year was 98.2 percent with the state average being 90.6 percent. According to the report card, 68.2 percent plan to go to a four year college/university; 27.5 percent plan to attend a two year college.
The median teacher’s salary in the district for the past year is $65,765, higher than the state median of $50,554, but that is based on 13 years of service as opposed to 10 years experience state-wide.
The median salary for administrators in the district is $109,300, with 27 years of experience as compared to the state figure of $98,767 with 25 years experience. And the total cost per pupil in Ocean Township is $11,242, which is a bit less than the state average of $11,903.
Ocean Township High School gets a high school on Internet connectivity. The school rated 100 percent as compared to the state average of 96.1 percent.
During the 2003-04 academic year, the student/administrator ratio was 343.9 students, an increase of 75.6 students per administrator well above the state average of 185.1
The township has a higher student/administrator ratio than the state. They have cut three administrative positions in the past four years.
Pagano said last year that he hoped that Trenton would better fund the school districts, adding that middle class school districts are hurting because of the lack of school aid. On Monday, he said they are still waiting to see what kind amount of funding they will get this year.
“We haven’t cut any other positions,” he said, adding that the public doesn’t value what administrators do for a school district. “Without consistent administration, the whole system would fall to pieces.”