Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday signed into law the elimination of the Praxis Basic Skills test as a certification requirement for new teachers, saying the move would help boost teacher recruitment and ease the staffing shortages in many Garden State classrooms.
Sean Spiller, the president of the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s dominant teachers union, spoke with NJ Spotlight News about the change, saying it was an important step but more was needed. (Spiller is also a member of NJ PBS’s community advisory board.)
Teachers will still be required to pass the Praxis’ subject-based tests for certification, but NJEA leaders have been among those complaining that the more-general “basic skills” test was arbitrary and a poor gauge of teachers’ qualifications.
