Brick high schools score low in New Jersey Monthly survey
Socio-economic classification hurts district, super says
BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent
Although a recent New Jersey Monthly magazine survey ranked Brick Township High School and Brick Township Memorial High School in the bottom 20 percent of the state's public high schools, a district official says the numbers don't paint the whole picture.

ERIC SUCAR staff Brick's Michele Kaminski (l) and her daughter Kayla, 10, stroll down a path during Save Barnegat Bay's annual Reedy Creek cleanup on Nov. 1. Thirty volunteers showed up to pick up litter left by trail visitors.

"Of course I'd like us to rank higher in the survey, but I think we're doing the very best we can with what we have," said Superintendent Walter J. Hrycenko. "Comparisons like this look at test scores only and not at actual learning."

Brick Township High School was ranked number 251 out of the state's 316 public high schools and Brick Memorial was ranked 261, based on data compiled from the state Department of Education's 2006-07 New Jersey School Report Card.

"I think the biggest difference between Millburn and Brick Township High School and Brick Memorial High School is the socioeconomic classification," Hrycenko said. "Millburn has a higher tax base and a higher per pupil cost than we do."

The state of New Jersey uses district factor groups to compare student performance on statewide tests across demographically similar school districts. Millburn is in district factor group J, which is the highest classification the state uses. Brick is in the DE district factor group, four classifications below Millburn.

In New Jersey Monthly's top 30 schools, all but one school, McNair Academic in Jersey City, fall into J or I district factor group classifications.

Hrycenko also said that Brick's philosophy of encouraging students to take the SATs and AP classes, while other districts would steer them away from doing so, impacts its rating.

"We want every student to have every opportunity even if it hurts our ranking," Hrycenko said. "I want to rank high, but I also want our schools to be inclusive. If a student wants to take a test or a class, I want them to do it. I don't want to compromise that for a ranking."

The survey ranked the school in 10 different areas: senior class size; average class size; student faculty ratio; the percent of faculty with advanced degrees; average SAT score; the percent of students achieving advanced proficiency of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) exam; number of Advanced Placement (AP) tests offered; the percent scoring 3 or higher on AP Tests; the percent of graduates going to a four-year college; and the percent of graduates going to a two-year college.

Millburn High School in Essex County, with a 300-student senior class, ranked first in the survey. By comparison, Brick Township High School graduated 358 students in 2006-07 and Brick Memorial High School graduated 456.

The average class size at Millburn is 17.9 students and its student faculty ratio is 10.1. In comparison, Brick Township High School's average class size is 23.0 and its student faculty ratio is 10.7. At Brick Memorial High School, it's 23.2 and 12.9, respectively.

Seventy-nine percent of Millburn's faculty has advanced degrees, compared to 29 percent at Brick Township High School and 31 percent at Brick Memorial High School.

"We lost a lot of points there," Hrycenko said. "I think the reason behind that is that where we live there are not a lot of master's degree programs nearby. There are also financial and time constraints."

Most teachers who pursue master's degrees do so to further their careers in administration, he said.

Kean University has begun offering classes at Ocean County College, which might help more teachers to pursue master's degrees, he said.

Millburn's average SAT score was 1,830, compared to 1,447 at Brick Township High School and 1,446 at Brick Memorial. The highest score possible on the SAT is 2,400.

"I'm happy that our two high schools have scores so close to each other," Hrycenko said.

Hrycenko said because a lot of students take the SAT in their junior year, their scores are not included in the survey.

"If they scored high enough and didn't retake the SAT in their senior year, then their results weren't included in this survey," he said.

Millburn had 52 percent of its students achieve advanced proficiency on the HSPA exam, compared to Brick Township and Brick Memorial, which both had 12 percent.

On the HSPA, the highest possible score is 300 points. Students are considered advanced proficient if they score 250 points and above; proficient if they score between 200 and 250 points; and partially proficient if they score below 200 points.

"Between No Child Left Behind and Title I, we are required by law to direct our limited resources to helping partially proficient students get to proficient," said Hrycenko. "It may not seem fair to proficient students trying to get to advanced proficient, and maybe it isn't, but that's the way we have to do it."

At Millburn High School, students can take 31 Advanced Placement (AP) classes, compared to five at BTHS and 10 at BMHS.

Hrycenko said that the AP courses available at both high schools are dependent upon student interest and the minimum number of students a class must have is 10.

"With a limited budget, we can't afford to offer a class if only five students want to take it," he said.

On the Advanced Placement tests, 91 percent of Millburn's students scored 3 or higher, compared to 62 percent at Brick Township and 73 percent at Brick Memorial.

Ninety-four percent of Millburn seniors went on to four-year colleges and 3 percent went on to two-year colleges. At Brick Township, 35 percent of seniors went to four-year colleges and 47 percent went to two-year schools, while at Brick Memorial, those numbers were 37 percent and 45 percent, respectively.

"Again, it's a socio-economic difference," Hrycenko said. "I think we skew towards two-year schools because of financial reasons," said Hrycenko. "A lot of our students take advantage of the NJ STARS scholarship program."

NJ STARS awards free tuition to the state's 19 community colleges to students who graduate in the top 20 percent of their class. When the student graduates from the community college with an Associate's degree, and if they maintain a 3.0 grade point average, they are then eligible to attend any state public university tuition free to earn their bachelor's degree.

"The enrollment at Ocean County College is booming," said Hrycenko. "OCC has more NJ STARS students than any other community college in the state."

In Ocean County, Point Pleasant Beach High School ranked the highest in the survey at number 59, followed by Point Pleasant Borough at 172. Both schools are in district factor group FG, one classification up from Brick.

The remaining Ocean County high schools: Southern Regional at 192; New Egypt at 193; Toms River East at 204; Toms River North at 212; Jackson Memorial at 214; Lacey Township at 238; Pinelands Regional at 241; Manchester at 244; Toms River South at 264; Central Regional at 273 and Lakewood at 300. All of the Ocean high schools are DE factor group schools.

The highest ranked DE factor group school was Secaucus (#103).

New Jersey Monthly rankings of the state's high schools are compiled every two years.