The School District of the Chathams has continued its reputation for excellence, according to the 2010-11 state Department of Education report cards released Thursday.

The goal of the School Report Cards is to allow the public to see how the state judges individual elementary, middle and high schools' performance in the 2010-11 school year. The information can be used to find deficiencies and plot courses for improvement. 

The reports measure standardized test scores for each school in a district and also provides figures on average class size, expulsion rate, length of instruction time, attendance rate and several other factors.

It also provides financial data for districts. Together, the Chathams fund 90 percent of the budget through taxes, while the state average is 52 percent. Per pupil spending costs in the Chathams are $15,428, less than neighbor Madison, whose cost per pupil is $17,130, and less than the state average of $17,469.

Total cot per pupil in the district for the 2010-11 year was $15,428, compared to a state average, rising from $14,825 in the 2009-10 year, according to last year's school report card data.

The Chathams only receives 9 percent in state aid while the state average is 42 percent.

The Chatham High School Class of 2011 had a 96.83 percent graduation rate. According to the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) tests, Chatham High raised its percentage rates of "Advanced Proficiency" in both literature and mathematics over the 2009-10 scores.

The percentage of students who entered and left during the school year fell to almost zero, from 2.5 percent in 2009-10 to 0.7 percent in 2010-11.

Class sizes in Chatham High School remain below the state average at every grade level. The number of students per faculty member is 12.3, compared to a state average of 11.

School suspensions totaled 1 percent at Chatham High and within the district, compared to a 13 percent suspension rate throughout the state.

The report card also shows juniors and seniors from the 2010-11 school year had a 100 percent participation rate in Advanced Placement (AP) classes, though this is an error, according to Interim Superintendent Dennis Fyffe. The actual percentage of juniors and seniors who took AP classes is 67 percent.

You can find breakdowns of the individual elementary schools and grade levels on the DOE website.

Editor's note: A previous version of this article stated 100 percent of the juniors and seniors from the 2010-11 school year took Advanced Placement classes. This information was reported on the DOE's School Report Card. However, Interim Superintendent Dennis Fyffe said this is an error. The actual percentage is 67. Chatham Patch has corrected the error and apologizes to our readers.