Asbury Park Area Schools Graded In Newly Released State Report

For the second year in a row, New Jersey has released its controversial rating system that graded every school on a 1-100 scale — a system educators say paints an incomplete picture of the state's 2,100 schools. See below how Asbury Park schools performed.

The new ratings, which were released Wednesday, were established to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced the controversial No Child Left Behind Act.
The ratings for high schools are based on graduation and absenteeism rates and PARCC scores, while elementary and middle school scores are based on absenteeism, PARCC and student progress on PARCC tests, according to the state Department of Education.

Read more: Every NJ School Graded In Newly Released State Report: Where Do You Rank?

ESSA was enacted in 2015, and it was intended to "build on key areas of progress in recent years, made possible by the efforts of educators, communities, parents, and students across the country," according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Based on the reports, it appears that schools that finished with at least a 50 score could be considered average. Schools that finish in the top 20 percent are considered above average.

Patch obtained the "summative scores" from the state Department of Education, which shows schools in Cresskill, Millburn and Fair Haven as having the highest scores, getting a 96.73 or higher. Some schools got a 1.18 or lower (see below).

Schools that have third grade or higher also have "summative percentile rating," which shows how they compare to other high schools, middle and elementary schools. Those give elementary schools more weight in their scoring because they don't have the exact same criteria as high schools (like graduation rates).

Here's how the Asbury Park area peformed:

Scores:

• #1984 THURGOOD MARSHALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ASBURY PARK 14.24
• #1989 BRADLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ASBURY PARK 14.08
• #2001 ASBURY PARK HIGH SCHOOL, ASBURY PARK 13.12
• #2025 DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING MIDDLE SCHOOL, ASBURY PARK 10.77
• #2081 BARACK OBAMA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ASBURY PARK 1.76

Percentile rating:

• #1932 ASBURY PARK HIGH SCHOOL, ASBURY PARK 7.45
• #1998 THURGOOD MARSHALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ASBURY PARK 4.27
• #2001 BRADLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ASBURY PARK 4.15
• #2032 DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING MIDDLE SCHOOL, ASBURY PARK 2.61
• #2080 BARACK OBAMA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ASBURY PARK 0.30