NJBIA testified against legislation that, if enacted, would eliminate the high school graduation proficiency test in New Jersey, saying such a move would weaken public education and the workforce pipeline that businesses depend on.
“There needs to be a mechanism that can clearly communicate proficiency of our high school graduates so that employers can fully understand what skill sets they are graduating with,” NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Althea D. Ford told the Assembly Education Committee.
“From the business community’s perspective, a strong K-12 public education system and a graduation exam that provides a measurable metric of proficiency are immensely important.”
Ford said NJBIA recognizes the concerns that some teachers, administrators and parents have about the timing and fairness of the test given to all New Jersey 11th graders, however, completely abolishing the exit exam without a metric to replace it would reduce data, accountability and educational standards that will affect the workforce pipeline and colleges.
NJBIA remains open to working with stakeholders to identify a substantive solution, she said.
“We are encouraged by our conversations with some of the advocates of this bill, and we do hope that through collaboration with stakeholders we will be able to see legislation that addresses our concerns but also addresses the concerns that advocates bring to the table with respect to testing,” she said.
The Assembly Education Committee voted 8-1 vote on Thursday to release the bill, A-4121, which now goes to the full Assembly. The bill is identical to one approved by the Assembly in 2023 that was not acted upon by the Senate before the two-year legislative session expired.
