Academically Excellent

Standardized Testing

Annually, the academic achievement of the elementary and secondary students is assessed for academic growth. The elementary students are administered the Terra Nova test (new 3rd edition) published by CTB/McGraw Hill, from 2nd grade through 7th grade with an option to test in the 8th grade in the spring of the current school year. Students in kindergarten and first grade are not assessed with a standardized test in keeping with the appropriate development assessment practices for early childhood.

The focus of the standardized testing by this highly regarded test is to assess student academic progress from a broader perspective. The Terra Nova is a nationwide normed reference test and scores the students in relation to all students in the United States who participate in this testing process. The new edition, implemented in spring 2010, includes multiple assessments with open ended questions and an electronic writing component entitled "Writing Roadmap" for the 4th and 7th grade students.

The students in the non-public schools are not included in the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge ( NJ ASK) test that is designed for public school students and primarily focuses on the material in the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards.

Elementary Schools

Our elementary students score higher than the national average in reading, language arts and math. The mean of the national percentile falls into the top quartile scoring results. At this time science and social studies standardized tests are optional at each local school.

Secondary Schools

Ninety-eight percent of our students take the SAT for admission to college and universities. As a number of colleges and universities are beginning to remove the requirement of the SAT for admission, a small percentage of students may decide not to take a SAT test.