Murphy Administration Releases Report from Educator Evaluation Review Task Force

Report Details 15 Recommendations to Streamline Educator Evaluation Process

Governor and Education Commissioner Announce Creation of Implementation Working Group to Advance Progress

TRENTON - Governor Phil Murphy today received the final report of the Educator Evaluation Review Task Force (Task Force), which was established by legislation signed earlier this year. The Task Force was charged with examining New Jersey's annual educator evaluation process for teachers and principals.

The current evaluation process was established under the 12-year-old Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey (TEACHNJ) Act. This model utilizes individualized feedback to educators, targeted professional development, and data on student progress to rate educators in one of four categories ranging from ineffective to highly effective.

The Task Force - comprised of educators, stakeholders, and education policy experts - has worked diligently over the past several months on a report detailing 15 recommended changes. The report was submitted to the Governor and Legislature earlier today. Recommended changes include streamlining the educator evaluation system, highlighting under-utilized flexibilities under current laws, and enhancing focus on professional learning and student growth.

"The collaborative spirit of this Task Force has been inspiring," said Governor Murphy. "Our educators play a vital role in our communities, helping to shape the next generation of American leaders. We owe them a great deal of respect and appreciation. That is why this process has been especially rewarding, because we are hearing directly from our teachers and those who represent them to ensure that our educator evaluation system works. I want to thank the Task Force members who spent countless hours over the last several months examining the educator evaluation laws and regulations to come up with exciting recommendations to improve these practices."

Today the Murphy Administration is taking immediate action to adopt a recommendation of the Task Force by developing an implementation working group, which will help review the report, identify priority implementation strategies, and collaborate with the Department of Education on guidance to enhance educator evaluation and reduce unnecessary administrative burdens.

"I want to express my deep gratitude to all the Task Force members for their dedicated efforts, which are paving the way for educators and the Department to collaboratively design improvements to the educator evaluation system," said Acting Commissioner of the Department of Education, Kevin Dehmer. "The recommendations provided to us today will be further developed and explored with the help of a new working group."

Information about the implementation working group, including opportunities for stakeholder involvement, will be available in the coming weeks.