Teacher Tenure Reform: What Do You Think?

Teacher tenure rules have taken center stage in the debate over reforming New Jersey .

State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) introduced legislation Monday that would impose a rating system on teachers. The system would rely on annual evaluations and "mirrors the four-tiered rating system in (Gov. Chris) Christie’s 'School Children First Act,'" according to NJ.com.  The governor is pushing for farther-reaching reform, including imposition of merit pay and the use of test scores in evaluation.

NJ Spotlight said the bill assigns teachers to one of four categories, which will be used in the tenure process. Teachers would receive tenure if they achieve three years of "effective" or "highly effective" ratings issued by a panel of teachers and administrators. The clock starts at the end of the teacher's first year, meaning they would not qualify for tenure until after their fourth year of teaching, according to NJ Spotlight.

The bill calls for revocation of tenure "after one year of 'ineffective' or 'partially effective' evaluations and a second year that did not show improvement."

What do you think? Vote in our poll and offer your opinion in the comments.