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1996 COHORT STATE SUMMARY
Administration

The New Jersey Grade 11 High School Proficiency Test (HSPT11) consists of three sections-Reading, Mathematics, and Writing--and must be passed as one of the requirements for a high school diploma. Students who do not pass all three sections receive additional instruction and are retested on the section or sections they did not pass.

In fall 1995, the New Jersey Department of Education began cohort tracking with regular students enrolled in the eleventh grade for the first time. Cohort tracking follows New Jersey public high school students' educational progress in meeting the HSPT11 requirement during the two-year period that students typically are in the eleventh and twelfth grades. The Cohort State Summary printed in this report shows the progress toward passing the HSPT11 following the April 1998 administration of students who entered the eleventh grade in fall 1996.

The HSPT11 was first administered October 1996 to regular eleventh-grade students in the 1996 cohort. Students who did not pass all sections of the HSPT11 were retested in April 1997, October 1997, and April 1998. Also, students who were not tested originally in October 1996 took the HSPT11 during these subsequent administrations.

Table 1 presents statewide results of the 1996 cohort students' progress toward meeting the HSPT11 requirement. The first column shows that 62,758 students were enrolled statewide in the eleventh grade during the October 1996 administration. This figure excludes classified special education students, limited English proficient students, County Educational Services Commission students, and students who had been retained in the eleventh grade. The enrollment includes 222 eleventh-grade students who passed all test sections in the previous academic year as retained tenth-graders and were enrolled in the eleventh grade for the first time in October 1996.

Approximately 75% of the 62,758 enrolled students passed all sections of the HSPT11 during the October 1996 administration. Following the April 1998 administration, 92.5% of the original group of 62,758 had passed all sections of the HSPT11. Passing information for the 62,758 students is printed in the "Static" section of the report.

Between the October 1996 and the April 1998 administrations, the return of answer folders indicated an increase of 3,757 new students and a subsequent decrease of 2,300 students statewide. This resulted in an updated enrollment of 64,215. Updated passing information is printed in the "Dynamic" section of the report.

The statewide mobility index of 9.7 is printed in the final column of Table 1. The mobility index gives the percentage of students who entered and exited the cohort group (exited students plus entering students divided by fall 1996 enrollment). Neither the mobility index nor any other summary statistics shown in this report directly account for absenteeism - which is known to be a factor in student performance.

The data in this report are based on information collected from students' answer folders. Subsequent to the distribution of test results in January 1997, June 1997, January 1998, and June 1998, there was a procedure for amending student identification information to correct errors that were made when students' answer folders were completed. Corrections to student identification information that were received by the State Department of Education by June 19, 1998 have been included in this summary.

This 1996 Cohort State Summary presents passing information for the grade 11 student population administered the HSPT11 in October 1996 and April 1997 and the grade 12 student population administered the HSPT11 in October 1997 and April 1998. The figure below shows that student enrollment included in the 1996 Cohort State Summary varies from that shown on the State Summary (Grade 11 October 1996 administration), and the Cycle I and Cycle II reports.

IMPORTANT COHORT DEFINITIONS

Cohorts are defined in two different ways: static (unchanging) and dynamic (changing). A mobility index is reported to indicate the percentage of students entering and exiting the cohort group.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 1996 COHORT STATE SUMMARY

Table 2 summarizes the progress of the 1996 cohort in Special Needs Districts, All Other Districts, and District Factor Groups (DFGs) toward meeting the HSPT11 requirement. Finally, the detailed report contains district-by-district and school-by-school results grouped by DFG. Progress for each subject--Reading, Mathematics, and Writing--are included in all tables. An explanation of the District Factor Groups is included at the end of this report.

Table 2
NEW JERSEY STATEWIDE TESTING SYSTEM
1996 COHORT STATE SUMMARY
STATEWIDE RESULTS

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