Sweeney, Prieto say they mostly support Common Core and related testing, but predict big adjustments ahead for NJ schools
By John Mooney
With New Jersey deep into incorporating the Common Core State Standards and about to debut new online tests for its public schools, the state’s Legislature has been caught in the position of having little say at this point — but still talking and hearing plenty about it.
At an education conference yesterday, the state’s two top Democratic legislative leaders took the opportunity to say their piece on the school reforms — and on where the state is heading next.
Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, both speaking on a panel about the politics of the Common Core, said they were largely supportive of the Christie administration’s path so far.
But they were also clearly keeping open their options as debate continues to swirl around the standards and especially their much-argued testing, known as the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).
Sweeney, arguably the second-most-powerful politician in the state at the moment and said to have an eye on the governor’s seat in 2017, said the deal struck with Gov. Chris Christie this summer, minimizing the use of the new testing in teacher evaluations for at least a year, was a positive step.
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A complete archived livestream of the event is here
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