Some Camden public school students are performing better on the most recent state standardized tests, making modest gains in math and language arts, but more improvements are needed, Superintendent Katrina T. McCombs said.

McCombs announced the 2024 results of the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA) on Monday during a rare morning private school board meeting via Zoom. The state-run district was required to present the results at a public meeting by Nov. 12.

In a PowerPoint presentation, McCombs examined results for students in third through 11th grades in language arts and math. The tests were administered last spring along with science testing for fifth, eighth and 11th graders. Statewide results have not been made public.

There was good and bad news in the number of students achieving proficiency or better in all three subjects. But school-level data showed some schools made significant gains, including Octavius ​​Catto School, where language arts rose from 15.6% of students meeting expectations in 2023 to 34.5% in 2024. McCombs applauded these schools and said they would be used. as models.

“We know we still have work to do,” McCombs said.

The rate of meeting expectations for third-graders in language arts increased from 5.9% in 2023 to 10.8% in 2024, McCombs said. The state average was 37.2%. Fourth, fifth and sixth graders also made gains.

Seventh graders also did not fare well, with the rate of meeting expectations dropping from 12.8% in 2023 to 7.8% in 2024, compared to 31.5% statewide. Language arts scores also dropped slightly in eighth and ninth grades.

The results showed that Camden students continued to struggle in math, making slight improvements across several grade levels. All grade levels were significantly below the state average.

Among fourth grade students, the rate of those meeting mathematics expectations in 2024 was 9.6%; This rate was 6.1% compared to the previous year. The state average is 37.5%.

In high schools, only 1% of students met the Algebra II expectation in 2024, while the state average was 47%. (2023 scores were not released due to privacy concerns).

McCombs said he released New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment results in September and showed that only 34% of 11th graders passed the language arts section, compared to 82% statewide. In math, 8.3% of Camden students met the standard, compared to 55% statewide.

Here are some takeaways from the meeting.

Camden still fails to meet standards in education and programs.

McCombs also touted the district’s most recent performance on the New Jersey Quality Single Responsibility Continuum, the state’s monitoring system for the operation of public schools. The results are important because as an inherited district, Camden must score at least 80 points in five areas.

Camden exceeded the standard in governance, financial management and personnel, but did not perform as well for operations, instruction and programs, a key area that includes student achievement on standardized tests. McCombs said the district received a score of 61 in instruction and programs, compared to a score of 9 in the 2011-2012 school year before state intervention.

Former Gov. Chris Christie ordered the state to take over in 2012, saying it would be “immoral” not to bring the worst-performing public school system in New Jersey under state control. Only half of its students graduated from high school, and its dropout rate was 20 percent above the state average.

No timeline was given for the completion of the takeover. The other three takeover counties in North Jersey—Paterson, Newark, and Jersey City—took decades to regain local control.

His choice to hold the meeting at 9.30am was questioned.

McCombs announced the special meeting in an announcement last week. The beleaguered advisory board held a morning meeting via Zoom for the first time. It usually meets on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

With time running out, the district faces a Nov. 12 mandate from the state to hold a public meeting to release the scores, the superintendent said. The advisory board canceled its meeting on October 28 due to lack of quorum.

Camden schools closed three days this week for election and annual two-day state New Jersey Education Association A convention for teachers and support staff in Atlantic City.

Former school board member Jose E. Delgado expressed concern about the timing of the meeting. He also said it was difficult to digest the “avalanche” of information, including slides of graphs and statistics.

“I find it very interesting that you have a meeting at 9:30,” Delgado said. “After about an hour my eyes sparkled.”

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About 75 people were on Zoom, mostly district staff and board members. Delgado and former board member Sean Brown were the only members of the public signed up for comment. Brown called the test scores “super alarming and alarming.” He also called on the board to review its sexual harassment policy.

State regulations stipulate that board meetings can begin no later than 8 p.m. and recess thereafter until 9 p.m., unless there is a quorum, according to Michael Yaple, a spokesman for the state Department of Education. There is no reference in the statute, he said he went to morning meetings.

The advisory board still needs to fill two vacant seats.

The school advisory board will meet on Nov. 14 to fill two vacant seats on the nine board, which includes former chairman Wasim Muhammad. Muhammad resigned under pressure in September following the fallout from a civil sexual misconduct case involving a former student that cost the district millions of dollars.

board member Nyemiah Gillespie also resigned in September, saying in her resignation letter that her resignation was due to “deep disappointment” including “the actions of the former board chair.” His term was scheduled to end in January 2026.

The board has been in turmoil since a former student filed a lawsuit against Muhammad, alleging he sexually assaulted her while he was her teacher in 1994. The district and Muhammad reached a $2 million settlement in June to resolve the case.

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In the 2021 civil lawsuit, student Salema Hicks Robinson accused Muhammad of sexually assaulting her while he was a social studies teacher at Cooper B. Hatch Middle School. She said the abuse started when she was 14.

Mohammed, 56, denied any wrongdoing and said he resigned because his tenure had become distracting. Because the Camden school system has been taken over by the state, the board serves in an advisory capacity and has no real authority.