Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires educator preparation program to report passing rates of students who complete certain tests and to disseminate information on test fee waiver programs, and permits collection of student fee for certain testing costs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning educator preparation programs and supplementing chapter 26 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Each educator preparation program shall annually report to the Department of Education on the first-time and overall test pass rates of candidates for an instructional certificate, for each test required for instructional certification.
b. Each educator preparation program shall annually publish the first-time and overall test pass rates of its students on its website.
c. Each educator preparation program shall annually disseminate information to its students on the availability of fee waivers for tests required for instructional certification.
d. Each educator preparation program shall include in its student fees a separate fee to be applied towards the cost of the student completing the tests required for instructional certification. Testing fees for students preparing for employment as an educator in a subject area in which there is a shortage of teachers in the State, as determined by the department, shall be paid by the educator preparation program.
e. As used in this act, a “test required for instructional certification” means Praxis Core tests, or their successor tests, and Praxis Subject Assessments, or their successor tests.
2. The department shall annually compile the test pass rates of candidates for an instructional certificate submitted pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of this act into a comparative profile of all educator preparation programs. The profile shall be made available for public inspection on the department’s website.
3. The test pass rates submitted to the department pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of this act shall be included within the documentation required for the Commissioner of Education’s periodic review of educator preparation programs.
4. This act shall take effect in the first full academic year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires each educator preparation program to annually report to the Department of Education on the first-time and overall test pass rates of candidates for an instructional certificate, for each test required for instructional certification. Under the bill, each educator preparation program must:
· annually publish the first-time and overall test pass rates of its students on its website;
· annually disseminate information to its students on the availability of fee waivers for tests required for instructional certification; and
· include in its student fees a separate fee to be applied towards the cost of the student completing the tests required for instructional certification.
The bill provides that testing fees for students preparing for employment as an educator in a subject area in which there is a shortage of teachers in the State, as determined by the department, must be paid by the educator preparation program.
The bill also requires the department to annually compile the test pass rates of candidates for an instructional certificate submitted pursuant to the bill’s provisions into a comparative profile of all educator preparation programs. The profile must be made available for public inspection on the department’s website.
Finally, the bill provides that the test pass rates submitted to the department pursuant to the bill’s provisions be included within the documentation required for the Commissioner of Education’s periodic review of educator preparation programs.