Vernon does well in PARCC scores

VERNON — The PARCC results are in, and Vernon Township High School has scored impressively.
Of nearly 400 high schools throughout the state of New Jersey, Vernon Township High School outperformed the large majority, landing within the top 15 percent on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).
The rankings were reported by the New Jersey Patch, earlier this week, with a complete state-wide enumeration of high schools and their PARCC Language Arts scores. The extensive list ranked each New Jersey high school based on the percentage of 9th, 10th and 11th grade student scores that had not yet met expectations in English Language Arts (ELA). With over 93 percent of its students approaching, meeting or exceeding expectations on the PARCC Assessment, Vernon Township High School attained the coveted position of #57 on the list.
Vernon students’ exceptional ELA scores are a direct reflection of marked student achievement in Language Arts courses throughout the district, as reading and writing skills are intentionally encouraged both within the classroom and beyond. The district-wide curricular shifts toward student-centered learning and textual engagement have informed English Language Arts instructional methods and have targeted areas of focus for academic improvement.
Department Supervisor of English Language Arts (ELA) Karen Stoeckel has led the effort to utilize research-based materials and educational tools that aid student growth in reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and written expression. Building upon a strong foundational layer within the elementary grades, high school teachers have incorporated reading and writing workshops within their class lessons. These Language Arts instructional best practices give students the freedom to explore their linguistic talents within a safe and supportive academic environment.
Teachers are also encouraged to employ a strategic approach toward classroom instruction, with the use of benchmark assessments that follow student progress throughout the course of the year.
Stoeckel implied that this is not an overnight process.
"Vernon teachers have been developing PARCC-like assessments long before the pioneer year, in order to adequately prepare students for what would be on the horizon," she said.
By utilizing observational data to guide instruction, teachers have the ability to expediently target and tackle challenges that may impede learning.
“The results show, with our English Department leading the way, that we have a collaborative, progressive focus on writing and reading in this building," Vernon Township High School Prinicpal Drew Krause said.
Real-world writing also finds its place within the Language Arts curriculum at Vernon Township High School, closely mirroring the style and format of written prompts within the PARCC assessments.
“Students engage in numerous writing opportunities with a range of authentic tasks, on-demand tasks and real-world writing,” Stoeckel said.
Vernon high school students frequently compose essays and write thesis papers that enhance their abilities to think critically and to organize these thoughts in a clear and effective manner. Teachers also utilize digital technology, such as read and write for Google Chrome, to improve student proficiency in online reading and writing.
On the forefront of the impending transition to digital assessments, PARCC exams are exclusively online. Thanks to the district’s recent one-to-one Chromebook initiative, and the hard work of teachers in the middle school grade levels, the majority of Vernon Township students now have direct access to educational technology on a daily basis.
“I am very proud to acknowledge the progress being made in the district, as we continue to find ourselves aligned with other excellent school districts,” Vernon Superintendent Arhtur DiBendetto said.