NJEA is in a state of “real disappointment,” according to a union press release, because yesterday the committee established to review the Common Core State Standards and PARCC released a report saying, “we have a few tweaks – what Richard Bozza of the N.J. Association of School Administrators called “changes and enhancements but no significant modifications” – but, really, they're just fine."
So NJEA gets out the Kleenex and weeps, along, perhaps, with Chris Christie who announced to everyone’s surprise last year that the Common Core “wasn’t working.”
From the press release:
"The long overdue report from the Study Commission on the Use of Student Assessment in NJ is a real disappointment to parents and educators concerned about the misuse of standardized testing in New Jersey. This commission was charged with analyzing school districts’ existing standardized assessments, yet it did not survey districts or take any measures to obtain that data. It also failed to analyze any objective information regarding the implementation of PARCC in our state.
“Worst of all, it ignored heartfelt public testimony from over 100 concerned parents and educators, along with countless emails to the commission, that almost unanimously criticized the current testing regime.
“The report, as well as the publicly posted minutes, failed even to respectfully acknowledge, much less utilize, that public input. Instead, the report seeks to defend a still-flawed testing regimen that sets up our schools, students, and educators to fail, claiming that it is merely trying to uphold a ‘shared vision.’ You simply cannot have a ‘shared vision’ on a controversial matter when you ignore the voices that disagree with your preconceived notions. In short, the commission failed to live up to its charge.
One problem with this dirge: the Committee’s vote on the report was unanimous and four of the nine members are N.J. educators: two are teachers and NJEA members, another one is a principal, and another, Marcia Lyles of Jersey City, is a superintendent. A fifth is a parent. The other four are heads of the D.O.E., N.J. Chamber of Commerce, N.J. School Boards Association, and the Camden County College president. (See the full list here at the end of the report.)
Seems like educators are pretty well-represented here. Is NJEA, then, disappointed in its own members?
The committee, according to the Daily Caller, “recommended keeping the vast majority of these guidelines” from the Common Core. In fact, the changes are so minor that PARCC assessments align admirably and, thus, the committee also recommended maintaining PARCC.
See additional coverage from NJ Spotlight, the Star Ledger, and the Wall St. Journal.