Parents of rising seniors in Cherry Hill will receive their children's scores on the state's redesigned graduation exam by Monday, Oct. 5, and students who fall short will have just over a week to prepare for a fall retake.
The New Jersey Department of Education released preliminary statewide results from the spring NJGPA-A (New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment-Adaptive) showing 75.1% of 11th-graders met graduation readiness in English language arts and 60.3% in math, according to NJ Spotlight News. Cherry Hill Public Schools received digital results on Monday, Aug. 17. Paper copies are due to the district by Friday, Sept. 4.
The ELA figure dropped from 81.3% a year ago, but state officials say the numbers cannot be compared. The exam was fundamentally overhauled this year: it now uses adaptive technology from testing company Cambium Assessment, adjusting question difficulty based on each student's answers rather than giving every student the same fixed set. It also aligns to the state's 2023 Student Learning Standards, replacing outdated PARCC-era standards used since 2022.
"These results are not directly comparable due to the substantial changes to the assessment, standards and performance level descriptors," John Boczany, director of assessments at the NJ Department of Education, said at the Aug. 12 state Board of Education meeting.
The State Board adopted a cut score of 450 on a 300-to-650 scale for both ELA and math, based on recommendations from a panel of 30 educators from across New Jersey.
Pathways for students who fall short
Cherry Hill High School East and Cherry Hill High School West together serve the district's roughly 3,400 high school students as of the 2023-24 school year. The district has not released school-specific proficiency rates, and no public statement from Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton has addressed the results.
Students who did not meet the 450 threshold have three pathways to satisfy the graduation requirement:
- Retake the NJGPA-A during the fall testing window, Tuesday, Oct. 13, through Wednesday, Oct. 28.
- Substitute another assessment, such as the ACT, PSAT or SAT reading and math sections.
- Complete a portfolio pathway, which opens in January and requires students to submit work demonstrating ELA and math readiness.
The compressed timeline is new.
In prior years, districts received results in June, giving families months to weigh options. This year, with scores arriving in August and the retake starting Oct. 13, the window is significantly tighter. Families should watch for score reports from the district before Monday, Oct. 5. Students who need to retake the exam will have less than two weeks between notification and the start of the fall testing window.
