New Jersey teachers no longer need to pass a basic reading, writing, and math test before receiving certification under a new law backed by the leading teachers union in the state.
New Jersey Democratic Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation last year as part of the state budget making clear that the New Jersey State Board of Education cannot require a candidate seeking a teacher certification to complete the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators or similar exams meant to test basic proficiency. The provision entered into effect in the new year.
Officials for the New Jersey Education Association, a teachers union affiliated with the National Education Association, previously lobbied for the removal of “the basic skills test for teachers.”
New York scrapped basic testing requirements for teachers nearly a decade ago, claiming the move would increase diversity among educators, while both California and Arizona ceased requiring the exams in response to teacher shortages amid the lockdown-induced recession.
The move from New Jersey lawmakers comes as the state likewise faces teacher shortages. But skeptics of removing requirements warn that many states controlled by Democrats have indeed been weakening standards for educators in order to artificially increase racial diversity.
Erika Sanzi, the outreach director for Parents Defending Education, remarked in a recent interview that the new legislation in New Jersey comes as the National Education Association works to “eliminate all barriers to teaching” since more hiring teachers “increases their number of dues-paying members.” The former educator contended that “when that’s your mission, student learning and quality control really aren’t priorities at all and so that’s a concern, for sure.”
Sanzi added that the elevated failure rates on basic certification tests indicate a failure to train qualified teachers rather than a need to decrease the standards for teachers who are hired.
“These are low-rigor tests. We’re not talking about the LSAT here,” she added. “That’s really an indictment of not only the education system that these aspiring teachers are coming out of, but the colleges of education that give them a degree even though they’re not remotely qualified.”
