The Assembly passed legislation, A-3081/A-990/A-2091 (Jasey/Eustace/Andrzejczak), June 16 by a vote of 72-4-1 that would establish a new taskforce, Education Reform Review Task Force, to examine the impact of the implementation of the common core and the new PARCC assessments as well as the impact of these new assessments on students and educators. The bill would delay the use of the PARCC assessment as a basis for student performance in teacher and principal evaluation and for purposes of graduation. The bill garnered the approval of a wide swath of educators, community leaders, parents, and advocates
Delaying PARCC Effect
Specifically, the legislation would delay the consequences of the “high-stakes” testing set to roll out next spring while a 15-member task force investigates the costs and effectiveness of recent education reforms.
Under the bill, the panel would explore the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the use of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, known as PARCC, to measure student mastery of the core. The bill would also delay the use of Student Growth Percentiles, a metric that measures student achievement by comparing test results of similar scoring students from year to year, until the task force completes a comprehensive report or two years. The bill also allows the computer-based PARCC tests to be administered next spring as planned, but there would be no consequences in terms of student achievement or teacher evaluations, the bill’s sponsor explained.
The Senate companion to the legislation, S-2154 (Van Drew / Gordon), is expected to be heard in the Senate Education Committe on June 19.
NJPSA supports the measure.