Sparta schools designated as ‘high performing’

Sparta Public Schools have been designated a high-performing district after a recent New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum review by the state Dept. of Education.

The school was evaluated on five categories, and it received a 100 percent in governance, a 96 percent in fiscal management, and a 97 percent in personnel.

The district only received below a 90 percent in two categories: Operations, and Instruction and Program.

A district needs to score at least an 80 percent in each of the five categories to be named designated as “high performing.” The QSAC review is performed every three years and will be done again in 2024-25.

Superintendent Matthew Beck said the district lost the 12 percent in in Instruction and Curriculum despite getting a 100 percent on curriculum. Standardized test scores used were from pre-pandemic tests and the tests weren’t given every year and the district hasn’t been allowed to update.

The review, which was done last fall, used test scores from 2018-19.

“We have no control over that,” Beck said. “What we had 100 percent control over was our curricula and the curriculum was 100 percent. We lost points on the student achievement.”