Gov. Phil Murphy took official action Tuesday to allow school standardized tests to be canceled this spring without impacting state graduation requirements.
Murphy signed an executive order waiving this year’s statutory school year assessment requirements for eighth- and 12th-grade students who have not met the graduation assessment requirement due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a state, we must continue to adapt to the new reality that COVID-19 has created in our state, a task that our students and educators are navigating every day,” Murphy said. “The waiver of these student assessment requirements will ensure that no student is left behind or unduly penalized due to these extraordinary circumstances.”
On March 18, Murphy ordered all public and private elementary and secondary schools to close to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. Many schools had already closed to students, and most had submitted plans to continue operating via remote learning to meet the 180-day school year requirement.
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A few days later, Murphy issued another executive order extending the school closings until the order was lifted.
This latest executive order is in line with the governor’s March 24 announcement canceling all spring standardized testing contingent on approval from the U.S. Department of Education, which it did receive.
The order waives the graduation assessment requirement for 12th-grade students who have not met the assessment requirement and planned to submit a portfolio appeal. These students no longer have to submit such an appeal to graduate. About 13,000 students were expected to submit portfolio appeals this year.
The order also waives the statutory requirement that a statewide assessment be administered to all eighth-grade students to assess progress toward mastery of graduation proficiency standards. Additionally, the order prohibits the use of student growth data as an evaluation tool for educators and waives the statutory requirement of three observations and evaluations for all nontenured teaching staff for the 2019-20 school year.
“Gov. Murphy’s action establishes a rational, responsible and fair approach to eliminate disruptions faced by school students and staff,” said Education Commissioner Lamont O. Repollet. “By clearing the pathway of obstacles, it allows schools to maintain their focus on providing critical education services to students.”