Bucking at least the beginnings of a state trend to reduce the weight placed on student test scores in teacher-evaluation systems, New Jersey education officials have announced that scores will again count for 30 percent of a teacher’s rating.
As in many states, New Jersey chose to decrease the role of students’ scores in rating teachers, at least temporarily, deciding it would count for 10 percent instead of 30 percent. That was in large part because of increased political pressure that came along with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and tests aligned to them.
New Jersey Education Association officials painted the state’s decision to return to the 30 percent weight as a setback for students because teachers would spend more time on test preparation.
