The New Jersey Educator Evaluation Review Task Force is set to submit its report on Sept. 30 to Gov. Phil Murphy, as required under S2082/A3413.
One of the recurring topics is the Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey Act (TEACHNJ). An unintentional consequence of TEACHNJ’s implementation, the report states, is the negative effect on relationships between educators.
Within the report’s recommendations section, it says, “The tremendous amount of added stress on teachers, the pressure on administrators, and the overall unintended consequences of perceived high stakes assessments creates tension in the evaluation system. … We owe it to our educators to address the concerns with the evaluation system that is currently in place to refocus the work on student learning and educational outcomes for all learners.”
The report also addressed the educational value and administrative burden of student growth objectives (SGOs): “As currently constructed and used in practice, SGOs have limited to no educational value. … SGOs as currently implemented are a time-intensive process, and that time could and should be better invested elsewhere.”
Newark Teachers Union member Michael Iovino, an AFTNJ PreK-12 vice president, was one of the 14 members of the task force.
“Overall, this committee did incredible work producing a 130-plus page document that included relevant research to support its findings,” said Iovino, who teaches at Technology High School. “Scheduling made it a challenge to attend all meetings, but precise minutes of each meeting and notes were readily available. Ultimately, the work produced is a fantastic treatise, and I expect changes to be announced as a result of it as soon as the legislative bodies begin to review the document and its recommendations.”
