Schools

Kinnelon High School Academic Achievement Higher Than Other NJ Schools

Report shows school outperforms 19 percent of schools educating students of similar demographics in academics.

While Kinnelon High School fully met its target of academic achievement in the 2011-12 school year, new data released by the New Jersey Department of Education shows the school is lagging behind its school peers in the area.

The data, which includes a new peer-to-peer comparison format, was released by the state on Wednesday. The new NJ School Performance Reports not only compare districts and schools to others in the state, but also to "peer" districts with students of similar demographic characteristics, such as the percentage of students who are in special education programs, limited English proficiency programs or who qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Morris County schools in Kinnelon's peer group include West Morris Mendham High School and Morris County Vocational School of Law & Public Safety.

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"The new School Performance Reports are designed to enhance both educator and stakeholder engagement in discussions about how well a school is preparing their students for college and careers," the state said in an introduction of the data.

The results show KHS as having a "high" level of performance when it comes to graduation rate, but the state said the school's graduation and post-secondary readiness is "significantly lagging" when compared with the school's peers.

Find out what's happening in Tri-Borowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

KHS met all its targets related to the percentage of students participating in the SAT and PSAT exams and ranked in line with peer schools for having 65 percent of students achieving above 1550 on the SAT. The school did not meet its target, however, for the percentage of students taking at least one AP exam in English, Math, Social Studies or Science and was behind some peer schools. But the school did meet its target for percentage of students who took the AP exam scoring a 3 or greater.

The high school's overall graduation rate, according to the data, is 95.9 percent. KHS' dropout rate is just .4 percent.

"Our honor code, a high participation rate in community service ventures, as well as special programs offered throughout the year funded with community support, help prepare students to be ethical and well-rounded leaders and involved citizens," KHS Principal Dr. Wayne Merckling said in a narrative included in the report. "Please know that our goal is to continue to provide opportunities for success for all of our students."


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