State School Report Card Figures Wrong, Superintendent Says

Paramus students are scoring higher on the SATs and taking more Advance Placement tests than their peers across the state, while the district is spending more per pupil than others in New Jersey, the state Department of Education 2010-11 School Report Card said.

Acting Superintendent Joseph Lupo called into question the state figures, which say the district spent $22,916 per student in the 2010-11 school year.

"We have found major enrollment discrepancies and what we're doing now is working with the state to get all of that corrected," Lupo said.

The per pupil cost from the 2010-11 Board of Education budget is $17,973. Lupo said the state under-counted the number of students in the district.

The state counted daily enrollment in Paramus schools at about 3,200. The actual figure in 2010 was more than 4,000.

Lupo said the state should have sent the data to districts before releasing it to the public.

"We get 650 notices a year from the state of New Jersey," he said. "I don't see why they can't send that information a couple of weeks in advance and say, 'Review it for accuracy and get back to us.'"

The report card also says Paramus has a higher student-computer ratio than the state. In Paramus High School, there are 6.9 students for every computer, compared to the state average of 3.1.

Lupo said the district has introduced more technology into the classroom in recent years by giving each teacher a tablet.

Paramus outperformed comparable school districts and state averages on the SAT, both in scores and the percentage of students taking the test. Paramus students scored higher than the state average the mathematics and essay portions of the test.

The district had a 76.8 percent participation rate on Advanced Placement tests in the 2010-11 school year, almost double the state average. Paramus High School requires students taking AP classes to take the test.

Nearly 70 percent of the students who took AP tests scored a 3 or higher on the five-point scale used to grade the tests. Lupo expects that number to rise now that the district requires students who don't receive a recommendation for an AP class to meet with their guidance counselor before enrolling.

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