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Progress Report

by Editorial Staff--South Jersey Magazine; Rachel Morgan ;

The Public High School Report Card 2014

What makes for a good high school? Better yet, what makes a good high school great? While the answers may be subjective, there’s no denying that South Jersey is full of stellar learning institutions that are committed to not only providing a quality education for their students, but also preparing them for life’s experiences outside of the class­room walls. Using information gleaned from the New Jersey Department of Education School Performance Reports, we’ve ranked every public high school in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties in categories like average SAT scores, student-to-teacher ratio, graduation rates and more. In addition, you’ll read about the changes to the SAT format and what area colleges are looking for from today’s prospective students. Consider this a crash course just in time for the start of the school year.

Average SAT Score

Haddonfield Memorial High School 1767
Cherry Hill High School East 1734
Moorestown High School 1710
Eastern High School 1658
Shawnee High School 1615
Lenape High School 1575
Haddon Township High School 1562
Cherokee High School 1547
Clearview Regional High School 1536
Cherry Hill High School West 1533
Washington Township High School 1520
Seneca High School 1519
West Deptford High School 1511
Northern Burlington County Regional High School 1506
Kingsway Regional High School 1504
Rancocas Valley Regional High School 1504
Cinnaminson High School 1502
Haddon Heights Junior/Senior High School 1489
Collingswood Senior High School 1485
Triton High School 1467
Timber Creek High School 1462
Delsea Regional High School 1455
Bordentown Regional High School 1454
Gateway Regional High School 1453
Pitman High School 1449
Florence Township Memorial High School 1447
Audubon Junior/Senior High School 1444
Williamstown High School 1437
Delran High School 1434
Deptford Township High School 1416
Highland Regional High School 1409
Burlington Township High School 1408
Riverside High School 1408
Maple Shade High School 1398
Sterling High School 1395
Woodbury Junior/Senior High School 1381
Glassboro High School 1381
Overbrook High School 1371
Winslow Township High School 1363
Pemberton Township High School 1352
Lindenwold High School 1335
Clayton High School 1334
Burlington City High School 1317
Palmyra High School 1312
Pennsauken High School 1274
Paulsboro High School 1247
Willingboro High School 1180
Camden High School 1035
Woodrow Wilson High School 1006

A.P. Classes

High School; #A.P. classes offered; # of students taking
Moorestown High School 21 909
Cherry Hill High School West 20 698
Cherry Hill High School East 18 1118
Lenape High School 17 695
Haddonfield Memorial HS 17 500
Eastern High School 17 702
Washington Township HS 16 629
Cherokee High School 16 521
Shawnee High School 16 495
Seneca High School 16 400
N. Burlington County Regional HS 15 484
Clearview Regional High School 15 473
Woodbury Junior/Senior HS 13 252
West Deptford High School 12 348
Williamstown High School 12 215
Delsea Regional High School 12 260
Kingsway Regional High School 11 453
Rancocas Valley Regional HS 10 542
Timber Creek High School 10 389
Triton High School 10 303
Cinnaminson High School 10 256
Winslow Township High School 10 178
Burlington Township High School 9 191
Haddon Heights Junior/Senior HS 9 162
Pennsauken High School 9 158
Haddon Township High School 9 162
Highland Regional High School 8 276
Delran High School 8 175
Audubon Junior/Senior High School 8 82
Glassboro High School 8 139
Collingswood Senior High School 8 117
Burlington City High School 7 52
Lindenwold High School 7 86
Pemberton Township High School 6 68
Deptford Township High School 6 80
Gateway Regional High School 6 76
Pitman High School 6 69
Florence Township Memorial HS 5 95
Willingboro High School 5 100
Sterling High School 5 182
Bordentown Regional High School 5 72
Overbrook High School 4 49
Clayton High School 4 70
Maple Shade High School 4 24
Riverside High School 3 36
Palmyra High School 3 13
Paulsboro High School 2 14
Woodrow Wilson High School 2 17
Camden High School 0 0

Graduation Rate

High School; Graduation rate (%)
Haddonfield Memorial High School 98
Cinnaminson High School 98
Cherry Hill High School East 98
Moorestown High School 98
Shawnee High School 97
Cherokee High School 96
Seneca High School 96
Haddon Township High School 96
Eastern High School 95
Burlington Township High School 95
Clearview Regional High School 94
Kingsway Regional High School 94
Lenape High School 94
Washington Township High School 94
N. Burlington County Regional HS 94
Delran High School 94
West Deptford High School 93
Bordentown Regional High School 92
Timber Creek High School 92
Gateway Regional High School 92
Delsea Regional High School 91
Glassboro High School 91
Pitman High School 90
Cherry Hill High School West 90
Rancocas Valley Regional HS 90
Audubon Junior/Senior High School 89
Sterling High School 88
Maple Shade High School 87
Haddon Heights Junior/Senior HS 87
Palmyra High School 87
Williamstown High School 87
Highland Regional High School 86
Woodbury Junior/Senior High School 85
Triton High School 85
Clayton High School 85
Pemberton Township High School 84
Riverside High School 83
Florence Township Memorial HS 83
Collingswood Senior High School 83
Pennsauken High School 82
Deptford Township High School 82
Lindenwold High School 80
Overbrook High School 78
Burlington City High School 78
Winslow Township High School 78
Paulsboro High School 77
Willingboro High School 73
Woodrow Wilson High School 50
Camden High School 47

Students Attending 4-year College

High School; % of students attending 4-year college
Haddonfield Memorial High School 87
Moorestown High School 74
Cherry Hill High School East 70
Shawnee High School 68
Haddon Township High School 60
Cherokee High School 54
Eastern High School 54
Lenape High School 54
Cinnaminson High School 52
Clearview Regional High School 50
N. Burlington County Regional HS 47
Kingsway Regional High School 46
Washington Township High School 46
Burlington Township High School 44
Cherry Hill High School West 43
Seneca High School 43
Haddon Heights Junior/Senior High School 42
West Deptford High School 42
Rancocas Valley Regional High School 41
Timber Creek High School 39
Bordentown Regional High School 36
Glassboro High School 36
Pitman High School 36
Delran High School 35
Florence Township Memorial High School 35
Sterling High School 34
Audubon Junior/Senior High School 32
Palmyra High School 32
Collingswood Senior High School 31
Highland Regional High School 31
Williamstown High School 31
Deptford Township High School 29
Maple Shade High School 29
Delsea Regional High School 27
Overbrook High School 27
Triton High School 27
Woodbury Junior/Senior High School 27
Gateway Regional High School 25
Clayton High School 24
Willingboro High School 24
Burlington City High School 22
Winslow Township High School 21
Paulsboro High School 20
Lindenwold High School 19
Pennsauken High School 18
Pemberton Township High School 17
Riverside High School 16
Woodrow Wilson High School 11
Camden High School 4

Student-to-Faculty Ratio

High School; Student-to-Faculty Ratio
Paulsboro High School 5:1
Haddonfield Memorial High School 5:1
Gateway Regional High School 6:1
Burlington City High School 7:1
Pitman High School 7:1
Palmyra High School 8:1
Woodbury Junior/Senior High School 8:1
Seneca High School 8:1
Overbrook High School 8:1
Riverside High School 8:1
Clayton High School 9:1
Cinnaminson High School 9:1
Camden High School 9:1
Haddon Heights Junior/Senior High School 9:1
Audubon Junior/Senior High School 9:1
Collingswood Senior High School 9:1
Pemberton Township High School 10:1
Lindenwold High School 10:1
Deptford Township High School 10:1
Cherokee High School 10:1
Sterling High School 10:1
Lenape High School 10:1
Delran High School 10:1
West Deptford High School 10:1
Glassboro High School 11:1
Woodrow Wilson High School 11:1
Winslow Township High School 11:1
Kingsway Regional High School 11:1
Washington Township High School 11:1
Shawnee High School 11:1
Pennsauken High School 11:1
N. Burlington County Regional HS 11:1
Burlington Township High School 11:1
Clearview Regional High School 11:1
Triton High School 11:1
Moorestown High School 12:1
Maple Shade High School 12:1
Highland Regional High School 12:1
Haddon Township High School 12:1
Timber Creek High School 12:1
Cherry Hill High School West 13:1
Delsea Regional High School 13:1
Williamstown High School 13:1
Eastern High School 13:1
Bordentown Regional High School 14:1
Willingboro High School 15:1
Florence Township Memorial High School 15:1
Cherry Hill High School East 16:1
Rancocas Valley Regional High School 16:1

The SAT Gets a Redesign

Students will be taking a very different version of the SATs come 2016.

The College Board, a not-for-profit organization that helps more than 7 million students prepare for the transition to college each year through various programs and services, recently unveiled the redesigned SAT.

“The College Board is redesigning the SAT to focus on the few things that evidence shows matter most for college and career readiness,” says Zach Goldberg, director of external communications at the College Board. “The redesigned SAT will support the practice of excellent work in our classrooms and the College Board will work with teachers and college faculty to design course frameworks and modules for use in grades 6-12.”

This has been the first major change to the test since 2005. The redesign incorporates eight major changes:
• Students will be tested on vocabulary words used in context, rather than simply memorizing the meaning of a word.
• Students will have to demonstrate command of evidence. For example, interpreting graphs and making sure the accompanying passages of text accurately represent the information in the graphs.
• The essay portion will be optional, although some districts and colleges will require it. In the new essay portion, students will read a passage and explain how the author builds his or her argument.
• The new test will focus on three essential areas of math: Problem Solving and Data Analysis, the Heart of Algebra, and Passport to Advanced Math. Questions will be grounded in the real world.
• Problems in both the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section and the Math section will also be grounded in real-world contexts.
• The redesigned test will require students to apply their reading, writing, language, and math skills to answer questions in science, history, and social studies contexts.
• Included in the new test will be a passage from one of the country’s founding documents (for example, the Declaration of Independence), or text pulled from the global conversation.
• There will be no penalty for wrong answers. Students will earn points for each question they answer correctly. The redesigned test will be scored on a point scale of 400 to 1600.

“Our goal is to support college readiness and success for more students and to make sure that those who are prepared take full advantage of the opportunities they’ve earned through their hard work,” Goldberg says. “Because a test alone can’t change student outcomes, assessments such as the SAT must be integrated with rigorous classroom instruction, and through their results, propel students to greater opportunities. The redesigned SAT will reward productive use of classroom time and a focus on rigorous course work.”

The high school graduating class of 2015 will still take the old SAT test. For those taking the redesigned test, the College Board will provide a full SAT blueprint before the first administration in spring 2016. Free test preparation will also be provided. Visit CollegeBoard.org/Delivering-Opportunity/SAT/Practice for more information.

Getting In: Local colleges sound off on the admissions process.

Applying to college can be a stressful time for both parent and student. We talked to some local colleges and picked their brains on what they look for in terms of applicants—from extracurriculars to transcripts to classes to grades—and how they determine who gets an acceptance letter.

For one local school, the most important aspect of a student’s application is his or her transcript.

“The transcript is key. That includes their grades, but more importantly, the courses that they’re taking. So how competitive their transcript is, are they challenging themselves? That’s always the most important things we evaluate,” says Matt Middletown, associate director of admissions at The College of New Jersey. But, Middletown says, there are several other criteria that are also important.

“There are really six criteria. Transcript is always the key, and we do look at the standardized test scores,” he says. “We use them but they are definitely not as important as the grades and the student’s transcripts. But we do look at their SAT or ACT scores. The third thing is the extracirriculars. That is actually a pretty big part of our process, especially if the student has any kind of leadership or community service. The fourth thing is recommendation letters. The fifth thing is the essay that students write for the application. The last thing is the major that they want to study. … There are some majors that are a little more competitive because they are popular right now.”

Karin Mormando, director of admissions at Temple University, says the school looks at the whole picture of who the student is when deciding on admission.

“Temple takes a holistic approach to reviewing a candidate’s application so that admissions decisions are made with as much information as possible,” she says. “Temple seeks students who are serious about academics, with a strong B average in high school classes; our 2014 freshman GPA is 3.47. Rigor of coursework is also important, as many future Owls come to Temple with Honors, AP and/or IB courses completed. We also look for a well-rounded academic background across a variety of subjects.”

Rutgers University looks for students that stand out, admissions officials say.

“Rutgers looks for well-rounded students who stand out in positive ways to others,” says Courtney McAnuff, vice president of enrollment management at Rutgers. “The best indicator of future potential is what you’ve already demonstrated in your accomplishments. We look at how these accomplishments have been recognized by grades, commendations, elected or appointed positions of leadership, and other indicators of success.” Standardized test scores also play a part, McAnuff says.

But other schools are deemphasizing standardized test scores, like Rowan University. “In the past, they have been an important factor. But more and more, we have been looking to make them less of a factor, just because there has been a lot of debate nationwide over the years about the use of standardized testing,” Dr. Albert Betts, director of admission at Rowan, says. “There are a lot of indicators that high school GPA is a much better predictor of [college] freshman success than ACT or SAT scores.”

Middleton also offers bit of advice for high school juniors and seniors when it comes to the college application process.

“For juniors, the biggest thing I can recommend is visit schools so you can get a feel for what kind of school is going to be the best fit. I always emphasize talking to as many people you can at a school when you visit,” he says. “For many, their senior year makes or breaks their chances. I know the common perception is that junior year is the most important year for college admission, but the first thing that I look at on an application is what courses the student is taking as a senior. Are they continuing to push themselves? Are they taking the easy route? [Or] are they continuing to excel as they get closer and closer to the college experience?”

Published (and copyrighted) in South Jersey Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 6 September, 2014).
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