Salem - Preliminary results from the 2015-16 Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium test show the Salem School District as ranking fourth out of 189 districts in the state for performance in English and language arts and 16th in math.

Salem School Vice Principal Kim Fentress gave a presentation at the Board of Education's meeting Monday night. While the test doesn't fully reflect student achievement on its own, she said it provides an annual picture of overall progress in the district to supplement other forms of assessment such as teacher observations or student portfolios.

All Salem School students in grades 3 through 8 take the test annually. Overall, 82.4 percent of students met or exceeded standards for English and language arts, and 70.6 percent met or exceeded the math standards.

While each grade and cohort improved scores from the 2014-15 year in English and language arts by 7.2 percent, math scores dipped 0.8 percent. Fentress said this decrease occurred statewide in the middle school grades because students in the older grades didn't have the Common Core instruction that the younger children had.

The board also discussed enrollment, which has been up in earlier grades throughout the area. Superintendent Joseph Onofrio II said the kindergarten class is at 45 students with two teachers and two full-time aides.

He said he and Principal Joan Phillips were meeting with the teachers daily to monitor how the classes are doing with the size increase, calling it manageable but not ideal. Phillips said it will be tough to request additional funds for a new kindergarten teacher should enrollment continue to increase because the first- and second-grade classes are also larger than normal.

Onofrio said about two-thirds of the 30 new students enrolling at Salem School have come from families moving into the district, while one-third came from school transfers and other circumstances.

a.hutchinson@theday.com