Mahwah Township Public School District officials presented 2025 student assessment results to the board on Oct. 29, saying elementary science and third-grade math produced the largest gains while middle-school results — notably an apparent dip in grade 8 math — require further curricular and instructional review.

Dennis Jarvis, supervisor of science for grades 6–12, told the board the district’s fifth-grade science scores rose 12 percentage points year‑over‑year and that grade 11 rose about 4 points. “Grade 5 is definitely a point of pride,” Jarvis said, attributing the jump to a new elementary science program (Savas Learning), increased science instructional time and targeted interventions.

Castle Sheek, supervisor of mathematics for grades 6–12, said the district’s third graders showed particularly strong performance in mathematics, with “82% of our third graders have met or exceeded expectations.” Sheek cautioned that the published grade‑8 math percentage does not include eighth‑grade students who were assessed on Algebra I or geometry because of course placement, which affects comparison to other districts.

Presenters described two assessments reported to the board: the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) for English language arts, mathematics and science, and the Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM), an alternate assessment for students with the most significant cognitive challenges. Jarvis said DLM results showed the district’s specialized programs are producing target/advanced performance for many students and that the child study team and classroom interventions (Edmark and Orton‑Gillingham among tools cited) support those outcomes.

District leaders pointed to several intervention and curriculum actions underway: expansion of Ready Math to all K–5 sections after a pilot year; use of the i‑Ready diagnostic three times per year to guide instruction; MyPath and LinkIt benchmarking at the middle and high school levels; layered tier‑2 and tier‑3 interventions (small‑group instruction, pull‑out/push‑in supports and tutoring); and a revised selection/process for tier‑3 support classes. Jarvis said the elementary science improvements followed both a curricular selection and a scheduling change that increased daily science instruction.

Board members asked how the district measures whether interventions produce lasting cohort gains. The superintendent, who led the discussion of implementation progress, said the district now uses frequent diagnostic data and in‑house benchmarks to adjust instruction during the year rather than relying solely on a single annual snapshot. He also said secondary curriculum reviews for math and science will run this year to address non‑spiraled sequences and other alignment issues raised by the results.

Presenters also showed subgroup improvements: Sheek cited a rise in math proficiency for Black/African American students from 29% to 41% (a 12‑point gain) and an increase for economically disadvantaged students from 27% to 34%. Jarvis summarized subgroup results across assessments as an average increase of about 8.2 percent across groups.

Board members and the superintendent praised teacher implementation of small‑group instruction while acknowledging more work is needed. “The work is not done. We will continue to look at it,” the superintendent said, noting curricular reviews and continued emphasis on data‑driven instruction.

The presentation closed with the board directing staff to continue the curricular reviews and to bring follow‑up data to future committee and full‑board meetings for tracking implementation and outcomes.

Evidence for this article comes from the district’s Oct. 29 board meeting presentation by Dennis Jarvis and Castle Sheek and the subsequent board discussion.