A New Jersey law that removes a requirement for teachers to pass a reading, writing and mathematics test for certification will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
The law, Act 1669, was passed by Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy as part of the state’s 2025 budget in June in an effort to address a shortage of teachers in the state, according to the New Jersey Monitor. Individuals seeking an instructional certificate will no longer need to pass a “basic skills” test administered by the state’s Commissioner of Education.
“We need more teachers,” Democratic Sen. Jim Beach, who sponsored the bill, said according to the New Jersey Monitor. “This is the best way to get them.”
New Jersey is especially in need of math and science teachers, according to an annual report from the state’s education department.
Just months earlier, Murphy signed a similar bill into law that created an alternative pathway for teachers to sidestep the testing requirement. A powerful teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, was a driving force behind the bill, calling the testing requirement “an unnecessary barrier to entering the profession.” Teachers in the state are paid an average of $81,102 annually, according to the National Education Association.
Here’s a better set of ideas…:
Pay them an adequate salary.
Get rid of the unions.
Promote them on merit.
Fire the inadequate ones.
Allow them to fail students that can’t meet expectations.
Involve the parents in the establishment of the curriculum.
Then you can keep the qualifications test!
Brilliant. I’m a teacher and this pisses me off. I already work with a whole slew of totally incompetent “teachers”. When I say this, I mean they cannot speak the English language correctly, are very far from well read, and are not even knowledgeable and proficient in their subject matter. The “Unions” are the main driving force behind this. I also lay blame with my colleagues who do not speak out about this for fear of being labeled one way or another. Parents should be raising outraged voices, but everyone stays silent. I’m in my last year, and there really isn’t anything anyone can do to remove me. I’m confident that I did my best every day and when I leave in June I will at least know I wasn’t part of the problem. If I were a parent of school aged kids, I’d get them out of public education ASAP.
Wow! That’s really cool! We already have unqualified teachers babysitting our younguns. I guess it will get even worse.
if they are lucky maybe the students could teach themselves
Social media will teach them 😩
AI to the rescue!
Stupid is is as stupid does