A New Jersey law removing reading, writing, and math requirements for most teachers will take effect on January 1.
The law is designed to address the state’s teacher shortage, according to New Jersey Monitor. State Sen. Jim Beach (D) said of the measure, “We need more teachers. This is the best way to get them.”
“Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the State Board of Education shall not require a candidate seeking a certificate of eligibility, a certificate of eligibility with advanced standing, a provisional certificate, or a standard instructional certificate to complete a Commissioner of Education-approved test of basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills,” the law says, “including, but not limited to, the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators test, in order to obtain a certificate of eligibility, a certificate of eligibility with advanced standing, a provisional certificate, or a standard instructional certificate.”
Another New Jersey law authorizes an alternative pathway for teachers to bypass a testing requirement.
A February 2024 report detailed the state’s teacher shortage. “New Jersey is one of many states confronting concerns about having enough qualified teachers to adequately staff its public schools and meet the learning needs of all enrolled students,” the report says.
Last year, Oregon’s Department of Education trained teachers on how to disrupt “systemic inequities” in mathematics.
“Understanding the systemic inequities of schooling, how to disrupt them, and the nature of and strategies to enact ambitious math instruction are central to being successful with this reform,” a document on math teaching read. “The modules offer a focus on equitable teaching practices and how to ensure success for all students, especially students of color, emergent bilingual students, and students from families of low income, all of whom have been historically underserved by schooling.”
The document is part of the “Oregon Math Project,” which emphasized “engineering a more equitable math system.”
