Correction to BOE presentation: Governor Livingston HS SAT Scores Rank Last of Seven Neighboring Districts
Berkeley Heights BOE presentation contradicts scores reported directly from the state -Written by a non-politically connected Educator in the Community At the March 18th, 2025 Berkeley Heights Board of Education (BOE) meeting, Interim Assistant Superintendent of Schools Mr. Dirk Phillips presented a report on district test scores from the 2023-24 school year including Advanced Placement (AP), PSAT, and SAT. Video...
Berkeley Heights 2023-2024 NJ School Performance Report Drill Down
How each Berkeley Heights School measured up on the 2023-2024 NJ Performance Reports The recently published 2023-2024 NJ School Performance Report reveals a mixed academic recovery for Berkeley Heights, shaped not only by the pandemic but also by years of inconsistent leadership and problematic board governance. Student proficiency in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) has shown modest improvement—Math rising...
2025 7-District Dashboard – NJ School Performance Report Comparisons
NJ School Performance Report Comparisons for Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Millburn, Westfield, Chatham, Madison and Summit. The following analysis draws on the newly released New Jersey School Performance Reports for the 2023–2024 school year. It highlights trends in student proficiency across English Language Arts, Math, and Science, while also examining other key indicators such as student growth, chronic absenteeism, and...
7-District Dashboard: Proposed 2025 State Aid Numbers Come Out
2025 Proposed State Aid for Chatham, Millburn, Madison, Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Westfield and Summit Last week, Governor Phil Murphy delivered his fiscal year 2026 state budget address, which covers the 2025-26 school year. The budget calls for a record-breaking $12.1 billion in funding from the state to N.J. public schools. The proposed state aid below is calculated based on...
Three Berkeley Heights Myths About Special Needs Students
The following is a response to myths in our community that have been advanced by BOE Representatives, Candidates, their Operatives and problematic Administrators over the Years who have tried to pawn off responsibility for their decisions onto students. These arguments come out any time the Budget Process approaches, NJ DOE Performance Reports get published or poorly informed candidates are running...
Mathematics History and Learning Its Lessons – Part Two
The second in a series that every Parent, Student and Educator Can Read to Better Understand the Current American Math Problem and Concerns about “Flipped Classroom”. Since the turn of the century, though the ‘Math Wars’ may have quieted, there is still a fair amount of debate – in this country, particularly – about how best to teach mathematics to...
Mathematics History and Learning Its Lessons – Part One
The first in a series that every Parent, Student and Educator Can Read to Better Understand the Current American Math Problem and Concerns about “Flipped Classroom”. I was recently sent a link to a comprehensive article about the history of mathematics in the United States. Despite being titled ‘A Brief History of American K-12 Mathematics Education in the 20th Century‘, the...
Spring 2024 NJSLA Scores: How Did the 7-District Dashboard Perform?
Berkeley Heights has some strengths, some weaknesses; moved forward to middle-of-pack with neighboring districts NJ.com recently published an article on the release of spring 2024 New Jersey State Learning Assessment (NJSLA) results. According to the article, math and ELA scores ranged from 650 to 850, with a score of 750, equating to students meeting grade level expectations and a score...
How Berkeley Heights Elementary Schools Fared on the US News & World Report 2025 Rankings
Spoiler Alert: Not Great It’s important to note that these rankings are based on 2021-2022 proficiency scores—a period marked by upheaval due to the previous Board of Education (BOE) and administration’s decision to push through a chaotic reconfiguration of our schools. While US News & World Report relies on year-old data, we have already reported updated proficiency scores for 2022-2023,...
Columbia Middle School Pulls Ahead in U.S. News & World Report Rankings
And there’s even better news for Berkeley Heights on the horizon. Columbia Middle School has shown resilience amid the proficiency declines reported two years ago. While the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings reflect data from the 2021-2022 school year, our internal proficiency reporting is more current—and it tells a promising story. Let’s start with the US News and...
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