The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The percentage of Franklin High School juniors with disabilities, and those with special needs, who are considered “graduation-ready” in three academic subjects increased from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, the Board of Education was told at its July 25 meeting.
The Board was also told that 13 percent of students learning to speak English – 113 out of 856 who were tested – scored high enough on another test to be able to leave the English as a Second Language program.
The information came from Dan Loughran, the District’s Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. Loughran reviewed results from the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment, taken in May, and the Access for English Language Learners tests, given to multilingual students at the same time.
The NJGPA assessments show “that should (students) meet all of their other graduation requirements … then they’re eligible for graduation.”
Juniors who do not do well on the assessment can re-take it in the summer or fall, or can demonstrate their knowledge of a subject without taking a test, Loughran said.
Overall, the percentage of FHS juniors who are considered “graduation-ready” in English, language arts, and math decreased slightly from the 2022-23 to 2024 school years, but that statistical anomaly may be as a result of there being more students taking the tests to determine their status, the Board was told.
Loughran said that that 77.9 percent of juniors are considered “graduation-ready” in English and language arts in the just-completed school year, as compared to 78.9 percent in the 2022-23 school year.
In math, 46.5 percent of juniors scored as “graduation-ready” this year, as compared to 48.5 percent in the previous school year.
Loughran noted that the number of students tested for English language arts increased year-to-year by 91, and 114 for students taking the math assessment.
The shining light in the results, Loughran said, was in the scores of the students with Individualized Educational Plans, or IEPs, and the so-called “405 students.” Students with IEPs are generally special needs students, while 405 students have other types of disabilities that could impair their ability to learn.
In the math scores, “Students with IEPs who are graduation-ready increased by 7.8 percent when compared to last year, and seven out of the 10 subgroups had an average score of 725, which is the passing score,” Loughran said.
In English language arts, Loughran said, “students with IEPs, graduation readiness increased this year by 7 percent, and students with 504 plans, graduation readiness increased by 18.8 percent.”
Loughran credited the increase in scores to an emphasis on “differentiated instruction,” which is defined as tailoring class instruction to meet the needs of individual students.
“This year, in the 23-24 school year, we had a primary focus on differentiating instructional practices to enhance success rates across all student subcategories,” Loughran said. “And although the graduation readiness levels were slightly declined, the significant improvement in graduation readiness among students with IEPs demonstrates the effectiveness of differentiated instructional strategies implemented this year.”
“It’s important to note again, we had a large increase in the number of students in the pool,” he said. “This likely influenced the overall readiness metrics. And while the overall percentage was slightly lower, the targeted efforts in differentiated instruction have notably improved graduation readiness for diverse student groups, such as those that we just showed, highlighting areas of success and opportunities for further improvement.”
The Access for English Language Learners tests were administered to all students in the District who are English language learners, Loughran said.
“This assessment allows us to monitor student progress in learning academic English as well,” he said.
Loughran said that 113 of the 856 students who took the assessment scored well enough to be able to be removed from the English as a Second Language program.
“it is notable that in 24-25, this upcoming year, our multilingual students in the bilingual program will benefit from fully staffed bilingual homerooms, where bilingualism as a resource will be used to increase native language literacy and aid students in building the cross-linguistic bridge to English, thus increasing English language acquisition,” he said.
“The implementation of the new curriculum, Adelante, a core literacy program for (Grades) K-5, will be used as bilingual support to strengthen students’ native language literacy and, as a result, strategically increase English language proficiency,” Loughran said.
Also, culturally and linguistically responsive instruction will continue to increase student motivation and academic performance with the addition of the International Alliance Group teachers who are working with our district in this coming school year,” he said.
