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By BILL SHRALOW
Courier-Post Staff
The area's perennial heavyweights in SAT scoring fared well again last year on the college entrance exams, with Moorestown High School leading the tri-county region and ranking third among 310 New Jersey schools.
Haddonfield and Cherry Hill East high schools followed close behind, rounding out what has become a familiar South Jersey top three.
Moorestown's average combined verbal and math score of 1191 was up 29 points from the previous year's 1162, when it ranked second behind East.
SAT results for the 2000-01 school year are part of the state Department of Education's School Report Cards, a school-by-school compilation of data released Wednesday.
"We're very proud of the accomplishment of the students and staff," Moorestown school board President Cyndy Wulfsberg said. "These things don't happen by accident or overnight. This success is due to the cumulative impact of years of planning and curriculum development and hard work by everyone, under the leadership of our superintendent ( Vito Germinario).
"We'll keep working hard to maintain that. It's hard to stay at the top, but that's certainly our goal."
Other notable local findings include:
•Burlington Township once again had the lowest per- pupil spending of any kindergarten-to-12th-grade district: $6,691.
•Eastern Regional took over the top tri-county spot in median faculty salary at $57,206. Cherry Hill, the former front-runner, saw its median dive nearly $11,000 to $56,551 as younger, less expensive teachers replaced a slew of recent retirees.
•Pemberton Township - a so-called Abbott district covered by the landmark legal decision mandating special subsidies for poorer districts - had the highest per-pupil cost: $12,080.
•Delran managed to place in the top 10 for tri-county SAT scores while keeping its spending among the 10 least expensive of 48 tri-county high schools.
For the first time, the report cards this year break down each school's test scores by race, ethnicity and gender. Statewide data, released in January, indicated white and Asian students outperformed black and Hispanic students.
In theory, the data should allow parents to see, for example, if their school does a good job of educating minorities. But much of the information is unusable because the data are eliminated if fewer than 10 students fall into a particular category. In many schools, some or all racial and gender data were unreported.
Statewide, the report shows, almost 90 percent of public school classrooms had Internet access in the 2000-01 academic year. That continued a steady increase since 1997- 98, when 36 percent were hooked up to the Web.
Other areas monitored by the state were almost unchanged as average class size remained stable and attendance dipped slightly. The ratio of students to teachers declined, however, as it has for the past three years as districts push for lower class sizes.
The annual report cards compile data on subjects including teacher and student absenteeism, standardized test scores and financial information.
Statewide highlights include:
•Class size: 20.8
•Student attendance rate: 94.9 percent
•Classrooms with Internet access: 88.6 percent
•Length of school day: 6 hours, 24 minutes
•Instructional time per day: 5 hours, 34 minutes
In Burlington Township, Superintendent Joseph Fritz said two factors have helped the district maintain the lowest per-pupil spending figures in New Jersey: hiring private contractors to provide support services, and an unusual grade-level configuration that maximizes efficiency.
Contractors provide building maintenance, transportation and cafeteria services, he said.
And the 14-square-mile district's grade configuration provides one school for all students in pre-kindergarten to second grade; one for third grade only; one for grades four to six; one for grades seven and eight; and one high school for grades nine to 12.
"All classes of the same grades are under one roof," instead of spread among numerous neighborhood schools, Fritz explained. "That allows us to balance class size and make single purchases of many materials."
Fritz said he is confident the district can remain among the state's lowest spenders even as the township continues explosive growth that has prompted ongoing construction.
Karen Hudnell, a vice president of the Fountain Woods School's Family Association, believes her children get top- flight instruction in Burlington Township. "I think it's wonderful spending is low. I don't think the children are getting less of an education," Hudnell said.
West Deptford had the highest SAT average in Gloucester County, at 1042, as well as the county's highest median faculty salary at $57,056. Its per-pupil spending, however, was fourth-lowest in the county.
Delran also fared well in SAT scores - ninth in the tri- county area with 1057 - but also ranked eighth-lowest in spending at $8,068.
"I know people actually move to Delran for the schools," said Charlotte Arr, a 28-year resident with a son who is a sophomore at Delran High and another who attends Rowan University. "The high school has great technology and state- of-the-art science. The schools are very good."