RAW DATA: RB SCHOOLS FALL SHORT

Red Bank Middle School and Red Bank Regional High School were among the 643 schools statewide that failed to make “adequate yearly progress” under the federal No Child Left Behind law, the state Department of Education disclosed today. The results were based on preliminary data.

The Red Bank Charter School and the elementary school were each classified as having made adequate progress.

At the high school, where 79 percent of the students must demonstrate language arts literacy, the shortcomings showed up among Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students. In math, which requires 64 percent of students to pass a test, Hispanics, African-Americans and students with disabilities came up short of the law’s targets.

The high school is classified as a “school in need of improvement” for failing to meet the law’s standards for 4 years in a row. According to the Asbury Park Press,

Schools not meeting standards in the same content area for four consecutive years are deemed to be in need of corrective action. The actions can include instituting a new curriculum, extending the school day or school year, or replacing staff who are deemed relevant to the school not making adequate progress.

Here’s what Edward Westervelt, Red Bank Regional superintendent, told the Press last October:

“We’ve improved scores, but we didn’t improve enough to prevent from being identified as needing improvement,” Westervelt said. “There are no excuses. We will remediate. I’m convinced we’ll be off the list next year.”

At the middle school, the sole shortcoming was the failure to meet a required 95-percent “participation rate” of Hispanic and economically disadvantaged kids in language arts and literature, according to the report.

Schools in Rumson, Fair haven, Little Silver, Shrewsbury and Tinton Falls all made the grade. In Middletown, all schools met the standards except Thorne Middle School.

From the Department of Education announcement:

A total of 643 schools—26.5 percent of New Jersey’s total 2,422 schools and 29 percent of the tested schools—did not make AYP. In 2004-05, 822 schools—34 percent of the total public schools in the state last year and 37.8 percent of the tested schools—did not meet the AYP benchmarks.

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