See How Toms River's Schools Were Graded On New State Report

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The New Jersey Department of Education released grades for 2,100 schools across the state, including the 18 in the Toms River Regional School District.

The system introduced in 2018 grades every school on a scale of 1 to 100, and was created in response to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), but educators have criticized the system as painting an incomplete picture of the quality of education a student is receiving.

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.

PARCC and how it is and has been implemented continues to be a source of controversy. The requirement to pass PARCC to receive a high school diploma was struck down by a New Jersey court last year, but the fight has continued.

The state Department of Education issued two sets of scores. One is the summative score, and the other is the summative percentile rating. Here are the scores for the Toms River district's 18 schools:

SUMMATIVE SCORES

• 782. Cedar Grove Elementary School, 58.39
• 805. Hooper Avenue Elementary School, 57.78
• 1086. Walnut Street Elementary School, 49.24
• 1160. North Dover Elementary School, 47.03
• 1219. Beachwood Elementary School, 45.40
• 1265. Washington Street Elementary School, 44.08
• 1268. Toms River High School North, 44.02
• 1474. Joseph A. Citta Elementary School, 37.34
• 1520. Toms River Intermediate School North, 35.89
• 1586. West Dover Elementary School, 33.66
• 1618. Silver Bay Elementary School, 32.42
• 1631. Toms River High School South, 32.07
• 1682. East Dover Elementary School, 30.10
• 1694. South Toms River Elementary School, 29.77
• 1705. Toms River High School East, 29.38
• 1817. Toms River Intermediate School East, 24.12
• 1828. Pine Beach Elementary School, 23.59
• 1943. Toms River Intermediate School South, 17.36

SUMMATIVE PERCENTILE RATINGS

• 769. Cedar Grove Elementary School, 63.21
• 794. Hooper Avenue Elementary School, 62.03
• 1089. Walnut Street Elementary School, 47.87
• 1159. North Dover Elementary School, 44.49
• 1222. Beachwood Elementary School, 41.53
• 1263. Toms River High School North, 39.54
• 1268. Washington Street Elementary School, 39.28
• 1475. Joseph A. Citta Elementary School, 29.32
• 1521. Toms River Intermediate School North, 27.13
• 1579. Toms River High School South, 24.36
• 1593. West Dover Elementary School, 23.70
• 1626. Silver Bay Elementary School, 22.10
• 1650. Toms River High School East, 20.92
• 1689. East Dover Elementary School, 19.08
• 1702. South Toms River Elementary School, 18.48
• 1828. Toms River Intermediate School East, 12.44
• 1840. Pine Beach Elementary School, 11.85
• 1959. Toms River Intermediate School South, 6.16

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.

The "summative percentile rating" is assigned to schools that have grade 3 or older and aims to show 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).

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