The state Department of Education last week released annual report cards for every school district in New Jersey. Lawrence officals are not pleased with the test score results.
By:Lea Kahn Staff Writer
Lawrence High School students who took the Scholastic Aptitude Test outscored the average high school student statewide by 36 points last year, and also had a higher level of participation in Advanced Placement classes than the state average.
Fewer LHS students dropped out of school than the state average, but more LHS students were suspended from school than the state average last year.
All of that information and more is contained in the annual report card for each public school in New Jersey, released last week by the state Department of Education.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Thomas Butler said Tuesday that much of the report card deals with standardized test scores and he is not pleased with the results. Those scores do not tell the entire story of the school district, he said.
Dr. Butler was referring to the standardized tests that must be administered to students in grades 3, 4, 8 and 11. The SAT is an optional test that is usually taken by students who are applying to colleges.
"Lawrence has great schools," Dr. Butler said. "The district has a really caring and supportive staff. They are concerned about (the test scores). We are making a concerted effort to address the issue."
Test scores are not the only item contained in the report card. It also lists the amount of money spent on each student, as well as the average salary of teachers and administrators.
The average administrator in the Lawrence school district earned a salary of $105,807 last year, as compared to the statewide median of $102,755. The average teacher’s salary was $51,920, as compared to $52,563 statewide.
Lawrence spent an average of $11,041 per pupil, which was less than the statewide average of $11,172.
Academically, LHS students scored higher on the SAT than the average score statewide last year. At LHS, the average math score was 537 and the average verbal score was 519. Statewide, the average math score was 519 and the average verbal score was 501.
Of the Class of 2005, 94.4 percent of LHS seniors graduated. Statewide, the average high school graduation rate was 91.3 percent for last year’s crop of high school seniors.
Student suspensions at LHS amounted to 18 percent of all students, which is higher than the state average of 13.6 percent. Statewide, 69 students were expelled including one from LHS, according to the state report card.
Statewide, the average class size in grades K-12 is 19.2 students, according to the report card. In Lawrence, the average class size varies, based on the number of students enrolled at each grade level.
In Lawrence, the average class size in the K-3 elementary schools is 17.2 students. At Lawrence Intermediate School, the average class size is 20 students for the grades 4-6 school.
The average class size at Lawrence Middle School, which handles grades 7 and 8, is 26.3 students. At Lawrence High School, the average class size is 15.7 students.
Districtwide, all of the computers in the classrooms, the school libraries and the computer labs are wired for Internet access. Statewide, 97.9 percent of computers in those locations are hooked up to the Internet, the state report card said.
The Lawrence schools have more computers per student than the statewide average. For grades K-8 the statewide average is 3.9 students per computer, but in Lawrence, the average varies from 1.6 students to 2.2 students depending on the school and the enrollment. At LHS, the numbers at LHS are closer 3.6 students per computer at LHS, compared to 3.7 statewide.
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