NJ Education Report

Three new regents elected by the legislature this week are expected to help lead an ongoing reversal in education policy in New York to less emphasis on controversial standardized tests. 

The vote to elect Nan Mead, Luis Reyes and Elizabeth Hakanson to the state Board of Regents means that the majority of the 17 member board now disagrees with the direction of the previous leadership under outgoing Chancellor Merryl Tisch and former Education Commissioner John King. They tried to fast track the new Common Core learning standards and rely more heavily on standardized tests to evaluate students and their teachers. That led to sometimes tumultuous meetings with parents, a poor relationship with the teachers unions and a boycott movement that led to 20 percent of students last spring opting out of the tests… 

Lisa Rudley, a founding member of the opt out movement group New York State Allies for Public Education, said she’s encouraged by the election of the new regents and board turnover that’s resulted in the exit of half of the Regents who backed the fast tracking of Common Core…

[Assembly Education Committee Chair Cathy] Nolan said, “it’s exciting, isn’t it?”