Ruiz Raises ‘Severe Concerns’ About Administration’s Teacher Evaluation Program

Chief architect of tenure reform cautions against putting too much importance, too soon, on student performance on state tests

By John Mooney

As the Christie administration’s new regulations for teacher evaluation near a critical juncture, the prime author of the landmark tenure reform law behind the proposed rules said the administration may be moving too aggressively in some places.

State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex), the legislator most credited for the new tenure law, said yesterday in some of her first public comments on the regulations that the administration’s plans to base 35 percent of certain teachers’ evaluations on state test scores, starting next year, may be too ambitious.

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