NJ gov calls for tougher standards for teachers, paying them according to new measures

NJ gov: Change how public school teachers are paid

OLD BRIDGE, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he wants to use new methods to evaluate and pay the state’s public school teachers.

Christie announced his education reform agenda Tuesday. It brings back many ideas he’s laid out previously.

He says teacher pay scales based solely on seniority and graduate degrees should be changed. Instead, he says, teachers should be paid partly based on how well their students do on standardized tests.

He also wants to create “master teacher” and “master principal” designations to give more responsibilities — and more pay — to effective teachers and administrators.

Christie’s announcement comes after he and Newark Mayor Cory Booker accepted a $100 million donation last week from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to boost the city’s schools.