N.J. Students Survive PARCC Tests But There’s a Troubling Trend Among Opt-Outs
March 5, 2015New NJ Spotlight Column: Time For NJEA to Seize the Microphone on Health Benefits, Pensions
March 6, 2015QOD: Sen. Sweeney on the Prospects of the N.J. Legislature Passing PARCC “Opt-Out” Bill
Senate President Steve Sweeney said this week in an interview with NJ Spotlight that he was waiting on both bills until the Senate education committee meets with state Education Commissioner David Hespe. The meeting is tentatively planned for next Thursday, he said.
“What I’ve been reading is that (the testing) has been a relative non-event compared to all the hype at this point,” Sweeney said. “I want to know what the commissioner says, and we’ll make a decision. Maybe it is the right thing to do, but I want to get that from the commissioner.”
From today’s NJ Spotlight. The Senator is referring to one bill that would delay by up to three years the linking of test results to teacher evaluations, and another bill that would facilitate “opting-out” of all standardized tests, including PARCC. For more on the former, see here. For more on the latter, see here.