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Gov. Chris Christie on Monday signed two bills related to standardized testing in New Jersey (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
(Aristide Economopoulos)
TRENTON -- A new state law prohibits New Jersey from punishing schools financially for having a high percentage of students refuse to take state exams.
Gov. Chris Christie on Monday signed legislation that bans the state from implementing financial sanctions against schools for their test participation rates -- an action the state's education commissioner had previously said could be used in "egregious situations."
Federal law requires schools to have a 95 percent participation rate on annual standardized tests, but thousands of students across New Jersey last spring, including nearly 15 percent of high school juniors, refused to take their exams, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams.
In April, state Education Commissioner David Hespe said schools could be placed on corrective action plans for low test-participation rates and the state would consider withholding funding if warranted.
His statement prompted the bill (S2881) from Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex) that Christie approved Monday.
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Gill was astonished that the state would consider withholding state funding for parents' decision, she said in May.
"While we do not have control over the federal government, we can assure that our state funding that we send to Trenton, the tax payers' money, is not withheld," Gill said in May.
Christie on Monday also signed a law that shields students in kindergarten through second grade from any potential expansion of standardized testing.
The bill (A3079) bans schools from giving students in those grades any commercially developed test that requires students to answer the same questions. Exams used to determine whether a student needs special services are still allowed.
New Jersey students younger than third grade do not currently participate in the state's standardized tests in math and English, and the state had no plans to include them in future years, according to the New Jersey Department of Education.
The state's largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, applauded the two new laws.
"Educators and parents are united in their determination to free our schools from the grip of testing mania," NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer said. "Today, we took two important steps forward."
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