Senate Education Committee Chair M. Teresa Ruiz Statement on Proposed Changes to PARCC Testing

TRENTON – Senate Education Committee Chair M. Teresa Ruiz issued the following statement today regarding Governor Murphy’s proposed changes to PARCC testing.

“Without having the opportunity to review the report issued by the Department of Education ahead of today’s announcement, the Legislature does not have a clear understanding of what the administration’s vision is for the future of assessments.  I look forward to having the Department of Education come before the Senate Education Committee to have a robust discussion about their objectives. We should not move forward without ensuring that the state’s use of assessments are developed around the most important aspect of education – the success of our students.  New Jersey’s current standards were developed with the guidance of President Obama and the assessment tools such as PARCC were designed to ensure the highest educational standards.  Empowering our families with data that measures how their children are performing and offering that same information to teachers maximizes the learning environment of those students and is a formula for success.”