On Monday Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill, co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, that will allow prospective teachers to bypass a test on basic skills.. According to the bill language, the State Board of Education “shall authorize the issuance of an alternative certificate of eligibility with advanced standing to a teacher candidate who meets all other eligibility requirements…except for the requirement to achieve a minimum passing score on an appropriate State test of subject matter knowledge.”

Translation: Aspiring teachers can get an alternate certification without passing the Praxis 1 test, enabling them to teach in public school classrooms (including renaissance and charter schools). After four years of continuous employment they will be issued a standard New Jersey teaching certificate.

Previously, the only other way to avoid the Praxis test was scoring in the top third percentile on the GRE’s, SAT’s, or ACT tests.

The bill was written as part of a 12-bill package intended to address teacher shortages and diversify NJ’s largely-white teaching cadre. It was supported by the New Jersey Education Association, the New Jersey Public Charter School Association, and the NJ School Boards Association.

In a statement, NJEA officials said,

.”At a time of acute educator shortages across the state, qualified candidates who have earned an accredited degree and successfully completed their student teaching should not be barred from our classrooms on the basis of a one-off standardized test that cannot effectively measure the knowledge or skills needed to be a great teacher.”

The Senate Education Committee also held a hearing on a bill that would require the State Board of Education to “authorize an alternate route to expedite the teacher certification of persons who are employed or have been employed by a school district as a paraprofessional or an instructional assistant.”

This bill is likely to pass the New Jersey Legislature and be signed by Gov. Murphy.

One caveat: Some argue that all aspiring teachers should be able to pass a basic skills test, and this lowering of standards could lead to the elimination of the Praxis 2 tests, which evaluate subject-specific knowledge. Also, the teacher shortage, except in special education, math and science, and English Language Learner teachers, is likely to abate: School districts across the country have been on a hiring spree, using money from federal COVID emergency funds that will expire in a year. Analysts predict lay-offs of 136,000 teachers nationwide.

[photo credit] Flickr: Phil Murphy