Hope
Twp. School scoring well
All students proficient or
better. School is one of only two in Warren County with this
success level.
Sunday, February 19, 206 • By LYNN OLANOFF •
The Express-Times
HOPE TWP. | There were 11 girls and six
boys in Meghan Gecek's fourth-grade class
Tuesday.
Five wore glasses. Two had
ponytails.
But the 17 pupils had one thing in common
-- they all scored proficient or better on the New Jersey
Assessment of Skills and Knowledge math test last
spring.
Hope Township School is one of only two
Warren County schools to have every student score proficient
or better on a state standardized test last year.
Third-grade students at Harmony Township School reached that
mark on the NJASK test in language arts, according to the
2005 School Report Cards, released by the state earlier this
month.
"To have 100 percent of the class to be
at proficient level is quite exciting, especially in this
day and age, where money is so tight to get what you need,"
said Pam Faris, president of the Hope Township Board of
Education.
Hope Township pupils have reached that
mark five times previously, Superintendent and Principal
Alfred Annunziata said. Fourth-grade students all scored
proficient or better on the state standardized test in
language arts in 2001 and 2002. Eighth-grade students all
reached that mark on the state standardized test in science
in 2000 and 2001 and in language arts in 1998.
New Jersey Monthly noted the school's
high scores on standardized tests when the magazine named it
among the top 31 elementary schools in the state in
2001.
The small school generally performs above
average on state standardized tests, Annunziata said, but
because of its size, test scores can fluctuate greatly
depending on only a few students.
"Traditionally, our third and fourth
grades have done very well," he said. "We're proud of it but
we don't like to brag about it the reason we don't is it's
only one indicator."
State education officials have not
studied how school size influences standardized test scores,
but students at small schools generally have better scores,
said Jon Zlock, a spokesman for the state Department of
Education.
"Where there are fewer kids, more
one-on-one attention they're going to yield better results,"
Zlock said.
Hope Township School officials do not
"teach to the test," they say, but they have various
practices that contribute toward the good test scores. At
the beginning of each year, all pupils are given assessment
tests, which are good indicators of their potential
performance on standardized tests, Annunziata said. Also,
starting in third grade, pupils have the same teacher for
two years in language arts and math.
"I really feel you get to know them --
their weaknesses and their strengths," Gecek
said.
Gecek often uses the school's daily extra
period for additional math lessons for her third- and
fourth-grade students. Many of the fourth-grade students who
did so well on the state standardized math test last year
participate in an after-school math club.
"I like math," said 10-year-old Phoebe
Sorensen, a Math Unlimited club member.
Reporter Lynn Olanoff can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by
e-mail at lolanoff@express-times.com.
© 2006 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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