Waters: As N.J. Governor, Legislature & Teachers Union Wrangle Over PARCC, The Fate Of 170,000 High School Seniors Hangs In The Balance

Waters: As N.J. Governor, Legislature & Teachers Union Wrangle Over PARCC, the Fate of 170,000 High School Seniors Hangs in the Balance

In 2017, Phil Murphy became the governor of New Jersey with the promise of implementing progressive policies such as a $15 minimum wage, higher taxes for millionaires, stricter gun control, and increased funding for schools and teacher pensions. One of the promises he made during the 2016 New Jersey Education Association convention was to eliminate PARCC testing.

However, Murphy is now facing difficulties in fulfilling all of his promises. One of the reasons behind this is his close ties to the New Jersey Education Association and their influence over his agenda. They have a significant amount of power over him, with his deputy chief of staff being a former associate director of government relations for the union. The union also has animosity towards state Senate President Steve Sweeney, whom they refer to as "Gov. Sweeney." Murphy’s efforts to please the union have been evident, such as weakening the state’s tenure reform bill by reducing the weight of student outcomes on teacher evaluations from 30 percent to just 5 percent.

Now let’s focus on PARCC testing. When PARCC was first introduced in 2014, it revealed accurate proficiency scores for students, which were a shock to families and an embarrassment to the union. These scores exposed the issue of high school diplomas being awarded without proper academic achievement. In order to fight against reliable assessments and increase the opt-out rate, the union established a political action committee called NJ Kids and Families. They spent a considerable amount of money from member dues on billboards, test refusal resources, and media campaigns. While there was initially a high opt-out rate, particularly in affluent white suburbs, participation in PARCC testing has increased and scores have continued to rise over the years.

Nevertheless, the union is still opposed to end-of-year course assessments, despite the availability of alternative assessment methods such as portfolio assessments. Initially, during the Christie administration, passing grades on six tests were required for high school graduation. Murphy’s education commissioner proposed to reduce these tests to two, but the State Board of Education decided to keep four tests. State Senate Education Committee chair Teresa Ruiz expressed relief and emphasized the need to raise standards instead of lowering them.

However, the union was not satisfied with this decision and seized on a technicality in a 1988 statute that limits graduation proficiency tests to 11th- and 12th-graders. They filed a lawsuit against the board, the state Attorney General, and the previous education commissioner. In December, the appellate court ruled in favor of the Education Law Center, stating that the graduation tests should only be limited to 11th- and 12th-graders.

Overall, these developments reflect the challenges faced by Murphy in fulfilling his promise to eliminate PARCC testing and highlight the influence of the New Jersey Education Association in shaping education policies in the state.

The union, Education Law Center, and Save Our Schools celebrated by releasing balloons. Blistan praised the decision as being advantageous for students. An attorney from the Education Law Center stated that the ruling affirms their position.

Alternatively, New Jersey may be facing various challenges, but we are fortunate to have a small group of knowledgeable legislators when it comes to education, such as Ruiz and Pamela Lampitt, the chair of the Assembly Education Committee. On January 17th, the state Senate and Assembly introduced synchronized bills, with the support of the New Jersey School Boards Association, that would amend a 1988 law to allow Christie’s graduation requirements, which were approved by the state board in 2016, to remain in effect.

Ruiz explained that the simplest approach was to address the issue legislatively. This solution would grandfather in both this year’s 170,000 graduating seniors and next year’s seniors, permitting them to fulfill the requirements that were valid before the court ruling. These requirements include passing the 10th grade English and Algebra 1 PARCC tests, or achieving a certain benchmark on other exams such as the SAT, ACT, Accuplacer, and the military eligibility assessment. In the meantime, the Education Department would create additional tests. The vote was originally scheduled for February 4th.

However, on January 24th, the Murphy administration formally requested that the Legislature postpone the vote until the department appeals the court’s decision, a plea that was also echoed in a letter to Sweeney from the Education Law Center. According to NJ Spotlight, Ruiz did not specifically name anyone, but criticized opponents of PARCC for causing uncertainty among students, stating that this chaos is exactly what other groups want.

Indeed, as Shakespeare wrote in Othello, Murphy is being led by the nose, similar to a donkey: 170,000 students are set to graduate in just five months without any understanding of how to meet diploma requirements because the administration’s actions are driven not by what is best for students, but by what is best for the leaders of the teachers union.

However, this presents an opportunity for Murphy to show voters that he is not a pushover, but a true leader who is capable of making decisions that align with the state’s efforts to prevent inflated graduation rates, maintain transparency for families regarding student achievement, and raise standards.

Can he do it? Only time will tell. But if he can bring back order and resolve the chaos that extends beyond just diploma requirements, he may have a chance to revive his faltering governorship and, who knows, even win a second term.

Laura Waters writes about education policy and politics on platforms such as NJ Left Behind, New York School Talk, Education Post, and other publications. She recently completed 12 years of service on her local school board in Lawrence, New Jersey, and was the president for nine of those years.