Schools

Manalapan HS Rates Very High in Academics, Lags in College Preparedness

Manalapan High School outperforms 17 percent of similar schools in college and career preparedness, according to the state's new evaluation.

Manalapan High School rated as a very high performance school in academics when compared to other New Jersey schools, including schools with similar demographics, in the New Jersey Department of Education’s new evaluation system.

This new assessment presents a larger array of new data so that schools can better understand their overall performance. The data is aimed at helping schools improve in order to help students graduate high school better prepared for college and a career, according to New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf.

Academically, Manalapan High School outperforms 86 percent of schools in New Jersey and meets 100 percent of its performance targets in the area of Academic Achievement, which measures the content knowledge students have in mathematics and language arts literacy.

The high school’s college and career readiness is significantly lagging, according to the evaluation. Manalapan High School only outperforms 17 percent of schools educating students with similar demographics in showcasing behaviors that are indicative of future attendance and success in college and careers, the report states. This number is determined by the amount of students taking the SAT’s or PSAT’s and participating in rigorous coursework in AP classes. The school only meets 60 percent of the state’s target goals in this area because not enough students are enrolled in at least one AP class or take the PSAT’s. Nevertheless, Manalapan High School still ranks high in college and career readiness when compared to all schools statewide.

The school’s graduation and post-secondary performance ranks high compared to schools throughout the state and is comparatively average when compared to similar schools. The new evaluation measures graduation and post-secondary success by calculating the amount of students that complete high school within four years and the drop-out rate.

School’s within the same peer group as Manalapan High School include Monroe Township High School, Wall High School, West Windsor-Plainsboro North High School, and Robbinsville High School. No other Freehold Regional High School District school is within the same peer group as Manalapan High School. Peer schools have similar grade configurations and are educating students of similar demographic characteristics as measured by enrollment in Free/Reduced Lunch Programs, Limited English Proficiency, or Special Education Programs, according to the report.


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