“The education provisions in this year’s state budget were far from perfect, but passing the budget was necessary to ensure vital funding for our schools and students. With that funding secured, I’m committed to fighting for reforms that provide greater fairness for teachers and students, while reducing the overreliance on standardized testing and making the tests we do use more accurate and fair.

“That’s why I sponsored legislation that allows more time for the adoption of a new teacher evaluation system that places less emphasis on standardized test scores (A.7303-A). The bill would also delink increases in state aid to the implementation of teacher evaluations, because our children’s education should never be put in jeopardy.

“To ensure the tests we give students are fair and genuinely reflect their abilities, the legislation would also create a content review committee that would help guarantee the accuracy of standardized tests. Each of these measures is an important step toward making our education policies work for teachers and, most importantly, for our kids.

“Moving forward, I’ll continue doing everything in my power to ensure that all stakeholders – teachers, students and parents – have the strong voice they deserve when it comes to matters affecting our schools.”