High-performing N.J. school districts will no longer have intensive state monitoring
DECEMBER 3, 2014, 1:42 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2014, 9:04 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
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TRENTON — High-performing school districts will no longer have to participate in an intensive state monitoring and evaluation system used to measure schools, education officials said Wednesday.
Districts can now request waivers from the commissioner of the state Department of Education if they meet certain benchmarks, Acting Education Commissioner David Hespe announced Wednesday. The move will allow schools to focus more time and resources on students and instruction and free up the department’s time and staff so they can work more closely with struggling schools, he said.
To get a waiver, schools must score 80 percent or higher in all areas of review under the system, known as the Quality Single Accountability Continuum. The areas are instruction and program, fiscal management, governance, operations and personnel.
The exempt districts will have to submit proof that they remain high-performing, in lieu of receiving a full review every three years.
Hespe said that about half of all districts could be exempt, but that it will remain a critical method to assess struggling districts.
The changes will help ease the burden on school districts, which have complained about the time and paperwork associated with the review. The typical performance review takes several months to complete and consumes large amounts of time for district and county staff to complete.
Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Board Administrators, welcomed the decision.
“This effort to streamline the process, increase efficiency, and provide flexibility for educators are educational reforms that the NJASA supports and changes that will benefit New Jersey’s students,” he said.
