The Fifth of Seven Reports on our 7-District Dashboard
We’ll start with the housekeeping and go over the same spiel we covered in our first four reports in the series.
We’re handling the 2024-25 NJ School Performance Reports differently this year by integrating the 7-District Comparisons into each District’s profile.
As a reminder, the Districts on our Dashboard include Berkeley Heights, Chatham, Madison, Millburn, New Providence, Summit and Westfield.
It’s important to remember that NJ moved to adaptive testing this year for Math and ELA, and in a recent email to NJ21st, NJDOE said much of what NJ21st requested regarding technical reporting, validation, comparability etc.was still in development.
This report focuses on Chatham.
ELA, Math and Science
ELA dropped from the prior year; Grades 4, 6 and 8 improved, while Grades 3, 5, 7 and 9 declined. 6th grade saw the biggest improvement while 5th and 9th grade showed the biggest declines.
| Grade / Level | 2023-24 ELA Proficiency | 2024-25 ELA Proficiency | Change | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall District | 75.3% | 74.8% | -0.5 points | Districtwide ELA proficiency declined slightly from the prior year. |
| Grade 3 | 79.5% | 74.2% | -5.3 points | Declined from the prior year. |
| Grade 4 | 76.5% | 81.2% | +4.7 points | Improved from the prior year. |
| Grade 5 | 81.0% | 74.1% | -6.9 points | One of the largest ELA declines in the table. |
| Grade 6 | 72.7% | 84.3% | +11.6 points | Largest ELA improvement in this table. |
| Grade 7 | 75.4% | 72.7% | -2.7 points | Declined from the prior year. |
| Grade 8 | 67.8% | 68.4% | +0.6 points | Essentially flat, with a slight improvement. |
| Grade 9 | 77.3% | 70.4% | -6.9 points | One of the largest ELA declines in the table. |
Chatham’s 24-25 ELA proficiency is below its 18-19 pre-COVID number (82.7%), its post-COVID 21-22 rate (78.0%) and slightly below its 23-24 rate of 75.3%.
Math also declined overall, with Grades 4, 6 and 7 improving, while Grades 3,, 5 and Algebra I declined. Geometry and Algebra II were up a little and Grade 8 math remained suppressed/below the reporting threshold.
| Grade / Level | 2023-24 Math Proficiency | 2024-25 Math Proficiency | Change | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall District | 70.0% | 68.5% | -1.5 points | Districtwide math proficiency declined from the prior year. |
| Grade 3 | 88.9% | 80.7% | -8.2 points | Declined from the prior year. |
| Grade 4 | 78.2% | 80.4% | +2.2 points | Improved from the prior year. |
| Grade 5 | 81.0% | 75.3% | -5.7 points | Declined from the prior year. |
| Grade 6 | 62.1% | 73.1% | +11.0 points | Largest math improvement in this table. |
| Grade 7 | 68.7% | 71.6% | +2.9 points | Improved from the prior year. |
| Grade 8 | <10% | <10% | Not reported | Data was suppressed or below the reporting threshold in the district chart. |
| Algebra I | 86.6% | 69.1% | -17.5 points | Largest math decline in this table. |
| Geometry | 46.1% | 47.1% | +1.0 points | Essentially flat, with a slight improvement. |
| Algebra II | 94.1% | 95.2% | +1.1 points | Improved slightly from the prior year. |
Chatham’s 24-25 Math proficiency rate of 68.5% is below its 18-19 pre-COVID rate of 74.8%, slightly above its immediate post-COVID 21-22 rate of 68.2%, but below its 23-24 rate of 70.0%.
Student Growth
Student growth was labeled Typical in both ELA and Math, but both were down from last year and well below the District’s 18-19 pre-COVID benchmarks.
| Measure | 2018-19 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | Rating | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall ELA mSGP | 50 | 49 | 43 | 37 | Typical | ELA growth declined from the prior year and was below the 2018-19 pre-COVID benchmark. |
| Overall Math mSGP | 60 | 50 | 44 | 43 | Typical | Math growth declined slightly from 2023-24 and remained below the 2018-19 and 2022-23 levels. |
Chatham’s 24-25 ELA mSGP was 37- down from 43 in 23-24, 49 in 22-23 and 50 in 18-19; putting Chatham’ below its pre-COVID number.
Chatham’s 2024-25 Math mSGP was 43 – down from 44 in 23-24, 50 in 22-23, and 60 in 18-19 which also puts Chatham’s under its pre-COVID number.
Going to Science, NJDOE’s 2024-25 report displays an overall science figure directly and the table below uses the percentage meeting or exceeding expectations. For grade-level Science, that means combining Level 3 and Level 4 where data was available.
Overall Science dropped from 23-24 to 24-25. Grade 5 improved, Grades 8 and 11 both dropped.
| Measure | 2023-24 Science Proficiency | 2024-25 Science Proficiency | Change | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall District | 59.0% | 55.9% | -3.1 points | Overall science proficiency declined from the prior year. |
| Grade 5 | 61.2% | 66.3% | +5.1 points | Improved from the prior year. |
| Grade 8 | 43.7% | 41.3% | -2.4 points | Declined slightly from the prior year. |
| Grade 11 | 74.5% | 62.2% | -12.3 points | Largest science decline in this table. |
Chatham’s 24-25 Science proficiency rate of 55.9% is below its 2018-19 pre-COVID rate of 60.3%, above the post-COVID 2021-22 rate of 53.0% but below its 2023-24 rate of 59.0%.
The NJGPA numbers stayed up in both ELA and Math: 96.3% of 11th graders were graduation ready in ELA and 88.2% in Math.
With that said, a note we’ve been making in every profile – three years ago the NJDOE lowered the cut score needed to pass the NJGPA.
| NJGPA Measure | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of 11th Graders Graduation Ready: ELA | 98.1% | 96.2% | 96.3% | Essentially flat from 2023-24, but below 2022-23. |
| Percentage of 11th Graders Graduation Ready: Math | 90.6% | 88.2% | 88.2% | Flat from the prior year, but below 2022-23. |
Graduation
| Graduation Measure | Chatham Rate | State Rate | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort 2025 4-year | 96.5% | 91.8% | Current 4-year graduation rate shown in the dashboard. |
| Cohort 2024 5-year | 96.9% | 92.9% | Five-year rate for the prior cohort. |
| Cohort 2023 6-year | 98.8% | 93.2% | Six-year rate for the cohort with available six-year data. |
Environment
Another note we’re going to make with every district-specific report on chronic absenteeism – the NJDOE changed the inclusion rule by moving the minimum days present or absent from 45 days to 90 days, so better numbers in this area should be read with that change in mind.
Chatham’s 2024-25 chronic absenteeism rate was up to 6.3%, 1.3 percentage points higher than 23-24, above its 2018-19 pre-COVID rate of 3.5%, but under its 2021-22 rate of 9.1%.
| School Year / Measure | Chatham Chronic Absenteeism Rate | Change / Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 3.5% | Pre-COVID benchmark from NJ21st tracking. |
| 2021-22 | 9.1% | Highest rate in the listed period. |
| 2022-23 | 5.7% | Declined from the 2021-22 rate. |
| 2023-24 | 5.0% | Lowest post-COVID rate listed before 2024-25. |
| 2024-25 | 6.3% | Increased from 2023-24, remained above the 2018-19 pre-COVID benchmark, but below the 2021-22 rate. |
| Schools Required to Develop Corrective Action Plan | 0 | No Chatham schools were reported as requiring a chronic absenteeism corrective action plan. |
Disciplinary Data
Chatham had 24 total unique incidents in 2024-25, coming to 0.67 incidents per 100 students.
| School Year | Chatham Violence, Vandalism, HIB and Substance Incidents Per 100 Students | Change / Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 0.89 | Pre-COVID benchmark. |
| 2021-22 | 1.04 | Higher than the 2018-19 rate. |
| 2022-23 | 1.39 | Highest rate in the listed period. |
| 2023-24 | 0.90 | Declined from 2022-23 and was close to the 2018-19 level. |
| 2024-25 | 0.67 | Lowest rate in the listed period. |
The 24-25 incident number is better than where it was in 2023-24 (0.90), 2022-23 (1.39), 2021-22 (1.04), and 2018-19 (0.89).
HIB was the top item followed by Violence. Vandalism, Substances and Weapons each had one incident.
| Incident Category | 2024-25 Incidents | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Total Unique Incidents | 24 | Overall count reported in the discipline dashboard. |
| HIB | 19 | Largest listed incident category. |
| Violence | 2 | Second-largest listed category. |
| Vandalism | 1 | Listed below HIB and violence. |
| Substances | 1 | Listed below HIB and violence. |
| Weapons | 1 | One weapons incident was listed. |
Note: The discipline dashboard cautions that incident categories should not be added together because a single incident may be counted under multiple incident types.
7-District Comparison
In ELA, Chatham ranked sixth out of seven and was below the 7-district average.
ELA Proficiency: Chatham vs. 7-District Average
Chatham: 74.8% | 7-District Average: 79.2% | Rank: 6th of 7
Chatham — 74.8%
7-District Average — 79.2%
In Math it ranked seventh out of seven and was below the 7-district average.
Math Proficiency: Chatham vs. 7-District Average
Chatham: 68.5% | 7-District Average: 74.5% | Rank: 7th of 7
Chatham — 68.5%
7-District Average — 74.5%
In Science, Chatham ranked third out of seven districts and was a touch above the 7-district average.
Science Proficiency: Chatham vs. 7-District Average
Chatham: 55.9% | 7-District Average: 55.6% | Rank: 3rd of 7
Chatham — 55.9%
7-District Average — 55.6%
In ELA student growth it ranked seventh out of seven and was below the 7-district average.
ELA Student Growth: Chatham vs. 7-District Average
Chatham: 37 | 7-District Average: 51.0 | Rank: 7th of 7
Chatham — 37
7-District Average — 51.0
In Math student growth, Chatham ranked seventh out of seven districts and was below the 7-district average.
Math Student Growth: Chatham vs. 7-District Average
Chatham: 43 | 7-District Average: 54.1 | Rank: 7th of 7
Chatham — 43
7-District Average — 54.1
Chatham ranked fourth lowest out of the seven districts on Chronic Absenteeism -just above the 7-district average.
Chronic Absenteeism: Chatham vs. 7-District Average
Chatham: 6.3% | 7-District Average: 6.2% | Rank: 4th lowest of 7
Chatham — 6.3%
7-District Average — 6.2%
Lower is better. Bars scaled to 10% for readability.
Chatham ranked third lowest out of seven districts on Incidents, better than the 7-district average.
Discipline Incidents Per 100 Students: Chatham vs. 7-District Average
Chatham: 0.67 | 7-District Average: 1.43 | Rank: 3rd lowest of 7
Chatham — 0.67
7-District Average — 1.43
Lower is better. Bars scaled to 3 incidents per 100 students for readability.
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Westfield by the Numbers: Part 4 of Our 7-District Performance Comparison
Summit by the Numbers: Part 3 of Our 7-District Performance Comparison
