scores which have exceeded state standards. Out-of-school suspensions dropped more than 55% and student tardiness dropped by more than 60%, while scores on state exams rose more than 20% in mathematics and more than 10% in language arts literacy. For his work in transforming Old Bridge High School, Dr. Hickey was recognized as the New Jersey Principal of the Year in 2009. He was also recognized by the New Jersey State Board of Education. The district Superintendent of Schools also publicly recognized Dr. Hickey for his work in transforming OBHS. In 2010, Old Bridge High School became part of the Confucius Classroom following the implementation of a comprehensive Chinese program at the high school. Delegations from the school went to China in 2009 and 2010. In 2011 according to the New Jersey School Report Card, Old Bridge High School made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act by meeting 40 out of 40 indicators, a first for Old Bridge High School. Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 158th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 178th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 162nd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 211th in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 197th of 316 schools in the magazine's 2006 rankings. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 169th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 45 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (81.0%) and language arts literacy (93.6%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). Athletics The Old Bridge High School Knights compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in the Middlesex County area and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. With 2,082 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range. The football team competes in