NJ Education Report

NJ’s third-graders took their standardized tests this week, and one language arts question asked children to reveal a secret that was hard to keep. DOE Spokesman Justin Barra said the question was being field-tested and that “it is clear that this is not an appropriate question for a state test.” (Courier Post, Star Ledger, Press of Atlantic City)

NJ Spotlight reports on Gov. Christie’s plans to eliminate the HSPA, NJ’s standardized high school assessment, without relying on legislative approval: “When asked whether it would need approval of the legislature, Christie said Monday that most could be done through state code and the State Board of Education, of which he will have appointed its majority by the end of his term. ‘I think most of it we can do regulatory,’ Christie said on Monday. ‘If it needs some clean up, we can talk to [the legislature] about it, but nothing that will be a foundation of the policy.’”

Education Law Center has a great explanation of NJ’s new method for calculating high school graduation rates.

Camden’s former Human Resources Director Monise Princilus was fired last year because she refused to falsify Superintendent Bessie LeFra Young’s attendance records. Young has been absent for 186 days over the last 18 months. Princilus is suing the Camden Board of Education.

Check out the state of your district’s art education programs through the New Jersey Arts Education Census Project. NJ Spotlight coverage here, Census here, school-specific data base here.

NJ’s CWA released the results of its latest contract: annual pay increases for 2011-2014 are, respectively, 0%, 0%, 1%, and 1.75%. Clothing maintenance allowance is reduced to $550 and only applies to workers who make less than $100,000 per year and have to wear uniforms. In The Lobby compares this settlement to the Corzine era when CWA members received  “3% raises the first two years, 3.5% the final two — all this happening at the same time the private sector enacting wage freezes and layoffs.”

Speaking of unions, the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation released its report that investigated how union officers, including those from NJEA, receive millions of tax payer money for doing union work. NJEA President Barbara Keshishian said, “The purpose of such agreements is to promote labor harmony within districts by making it possible for problems to be addressed and resolved cooperatively rather than through adversarial processes. Also see The Chicago Tribune.

From the Star-Ledger: “More than 60 percent of the school administrators in New Jersey have failed to disclose the value of their unused sick and vacation time as required by a state law intended to make their compensation plans more transparent.”