Since I live and teach in Sayreville, and my husband, sons, and other relatives graduated here I easily picked Sayreville War Memorial High School as one of the schools to study. In fact, my younger son graduated from the high school last June, so it is his class's statistics that I am viewing.
The other school I chose is East Brunswick High School, since they are in a neighboring town and have a good reputation for academics. Now I know why.
From living and working in Sayreville I know that the school district has a very low cost per pupil compared to the state average, and yet, the voters in this town vote down the school budget almost every year. Sayreville's total cost per pupil last school year (2009-2010) was $12,849 compared to the state average of $15,538. East Brunswick spent just slightly less than the state average at $15,094.
With a lower cost per student, Sayreville has a lower student /computer ratio (4.6) than EB (5.1), but both were higher than the state ratio of 3.1.
I was surprised that with such a low cost per pupil the average class size in Sayreville's high school was 18.4 compared to EB's 23.5 (state average 18.2). Yet even with larger class sizes, EB's test scores blew Sayreville's away! In HSPA scoring last year Sayreville fared well compared to state averages, but EB's scores were much better:
LAL Proficient LAL advanced prof Math Proficient Math advanced prof
Sayreville 73.4% 16.3% 52.6% 21.8%
East Brunswick 65.1% 30.8% 45.4% 44.3%
State 69.3% 18.7% 50.7% 24.3%
Based on the above I'm not surprised that East Brunswick had 75.3% of its graduating seniors plan to attend a 4 year college, with 18.5% for 2 year schools;while Sayreville had 47.2% plan on a 4 year school, and 45.9% for 2 year schools.
Both districts' "years of experience" for teachers was 9 years, compared to 10 for the state. East Brunswick has over 47% of its teachers holding master's degrees, compared to Sayreville's 39%.
Though I am proud of Sayreville's continuing ability to do more with less, I have to admit they are doing something right in East Brunswick.
Nicely done, Eileen. I went to Sayreville and had always thought we were "in the running" with EB until I became a teacher and saw data like this. It definitely looks like EB has won their bragging rights. I also think part of the education is the parents. EB has had several blue ribbon schools over the years and I think people who purchase homes there are looking for certain things from the school district. And they're willing to pay for their children to get a better education. This support of the schools pays off.
ReplyDeleteWow Eileen! Thank you so much for that information. Just by reading that I know you're an established teacher. Looks like I might be moving to East Brunswick when I have children. Although, my former grammar school in Newark is a Blue Ribbon recipient as well. I'm so happy that East Brunswick tax payers are getting their money's worth when it comes to their children's education.
ReplyDeleteHow is it possible that Sayreville is literally 5 minutes away from EB, and our students are so far behind when it comes to testing and college? After reading your data, I find it hard to believe when we say "we do so much with so little" is paying off. After completing this assignment and reading your blog perhaps the finacial state of a school does play a role in education as well as the support from the community.
ReplyDeleteI believe in the african proverb that says" it takes a village to raise a child". A community as a whole is responsible as well as the school system. It is a joined effort.
ReplyDeleteEducation starts way before a child goes into a school, it starts at home.