Some Camden Public Schools students have performed better on the state’s latest standardized tests, with modest gains in math and language arts, but further improvement is needed, Superintendent Katrina T. McCombs said.

McCombs released the 2024 results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment, or NJSLA, on Monday during a rare special morning school board meeting via Zoom. The public district was expected to present the results at a public meeting before November 12.

In a PowerPoint presentation, McCombs reviewed the results of third through 11th grade students in language arts and mathematics. The tests were administered last spring, along with a science test for fifth, eighth and 11th graders. Statewide results have not been made public.

There was good news and bad news about the number of students achieving proficiency or better in all three subjects. School-level data, however, shows that some schools have made significant progress, including at Octavius ​​Catto School, where language arts increased from 15.6% of students meeting expectations in 2023 to 34.5%. in 2024. McCombs applauded those schools and said they would be used. as models.

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

In language arts, the passing rate for third graders increased from 5.9% meeting expectations in 2023 to 10.8% in 2024, McCombs said. The state average was 37.2%. Gains were also made by fourth, fifth and sixth graders.

Seventh graders did not perform as well, falling from 12.8% meeting expectations in 2023 to 7.8% in 2024, compared to 31.5% statewide. Language arts scores also declined slightly for eighth and ninth grades.

The results showed that Camden students continue to struggle in math, with a few grade levels making slight progress. All grade levels were significantly below the state average.

Among fourth graders, 9.6% met math expectations in 2024, an increase from 6.1% the previous year. The state average is 37.5%.

In high schools, only 1% of students met expectations for Algebra II in 2024, compared to the state average of 47%. (Scores for 2023 have not been released due to privacy concerns).

McCombs announced New Jersey Credential Assessment results in September that showed only 34 percent of 11th graders passed the language arts portion, compared to 82 percent statewide, she said. declared. For math, 8.3 percent of Camden students met the standard, compared to 55 percent statewide, she said.

Here are some other takeaways from the meeting.

Camden continues to fall short of teaching and curriculum standards.

McCombs also announced the district’s latest performance on the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum, the state’s monitoring system for public school operations. The results are significant because, as a recovery district, Camden must score at least 80 in five areas.

Camden exceeded standards in governance, financial management and personnel, but not in operations, nor in teaching and curriculum, a key area that includes student achievement on standardized tests. The district scored 61 in instruction and curriculum, up from 9 in the 2011-12 school year before the state intervened, McCombs said.

Former Gov. Chris Christie ordered the state takeover in 2012, saying it would be “immoral” not to bring New Jersey’s lowest-performing public school system under state control. Only half of its students graduated from high school, and the dropout rate was 20 percentage points higher than the state average.

No timetable was given for when the buyout would be completed. It took decades for North Jersey’s three other districts – Paterson, Newark and Jersey City – to regain local control.

His choice of a 9:30 a.m. meeting was questioned.

McCombs announced the special meeting in a notice last week. It was the first time the embattled advisory committee held a morning meeting via Zoom. It generally meets on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

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

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

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. “My eyes glazed over after about an hour.”

» LEARN MORE: I served on the Camden school board for 27 years. The politics involved made a state takeover inevitable

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

According to Michael Yaple, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, state regulations stipulate that board meetings can begin no later than 8 p.m. unless there is no quorum, and that they can then be suspended until 9 p.m. There is no reference in the statutes. in morning meetings, he said.

The advisory board still needs to fill two vacant seats.

The school advisory board will meet Nov. 14 to fill two vacant seats on the nine boards, including the seat held by its former president, Wasim Muhammad. Muhammad resigned under pressure in September after the fallout from a civil sexual abuse lawsuit involving a former student that cost the district millions of dollars.

Member of the board of directors Nyemiah Gillespie also resigned in September, saying in her resignation letter that her resignation came from a “place of deep disappointment,” including “the actions of the former chairman of the board.” His term was set to expire in January 2026.

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

» LEARN MORE: Embattled Camden School Advisory Board Chairman Resigns After Months of Protests

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

Muhammad, 56, has denied any wrongdoing and said he resigned because his tenure had become a distraction. Because Camden’s school system is under state control, the board of trustees serves an advisory role and has no real authority.