New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is already making good on his promises to the teachers unions. Too bad it’s at the kids’ expense.
Unions hate standardized tests that show what students have really learned. And Murphy last week axed four state exams for high school students: the algebra II and geometry tests, as well as English exams in both ninth and 11th grade.
Only the algebra I and 10th-grade English tests remain — for now.
After all, Murphy promised during the campaign to end all the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers tests. But he’s only “asking” the state Board of Education to phase them out.
Oh, and to cut the time for the last two tests by 25 percent, reduce the weight of the exams in teacher evaluations . . . and lower high school graduation requirements.
Officially, he wants the state to transition to a new testing system — one that’s less “high stakes and high stress.” It’s a safe bet that the future won’t hold anything like the PARCC exams, which are written by a multi-state consortium. Instead, they’ll be Jersey-only tests — far easier to water down into meaninglessness.
The sickest thing about this: A couple of years down the line, Murphy will be boasting about improved high school graduation rates — without mentioning the fact that his “reforms” have made many of those diplomas worthless.