NJ School Boards Association has issued a statement supporting the New Jersey’s original timeline for incorporating student growth, as measured by the PARCC assessments, into teacher evaluations. This week the Assembly overwhelmingly approved A 3801, sponsored by Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex), a bill that would delay implementation of this section of NJ’s tenure law for up to two years.

NJSBA, according to the position statement, supports the proposed Education Review Task Board that would monitor implementation. However, it opposes the delay, in part because while “our state performs quite well in comparison to other states, “our county colleges report that 57%-92% of their first-year students require remediation” and “only 43% of students’ SAT scores are high enough to be considered college and career ready.”

More from the statement:

we oppose provisions of the bill that would delay the application of PARCC assessments or the use of student growth percentiles (SGPs).  We believe that moving forward with the planned PARCC testing application and the implementation of the SGPs will help inform the proposed task force as it makes recommendations to improve implementation of the various education initiatives currently underway…  

NJSBA believes that the legislation being addressed today would significantly slow down a process that began in June 2010.  We support the creation of the proposed Education Reform Review Task Force, however we urge the committee to fully consider the ramifications of delaying initiatives that will provide that same task force with the data and evidence it needs to make well-informed recommendations to the State’s policy makers.