VA Senate Dems Rip Youngkin Education Report as ‘Joke’, ‘Dog Whistle Talking Points’; “outright lie, backed up by hand-picked data and a distorted perspective”

Governor Youngkin releases education report finding declining educational performance and lowered standards in Virginia

~Youngkin Administration to Raise Standards, Improve Transparency, and Hold Parents and Teachers Accountable~

Governor Glenn Youngkin delivers remarks following the Education Report findings in the Patrick Henry Building Thursday, May 19, 2022. Official photo by Christian Martinez, Office of Governor Glenn Youngkin.

RICHMOND, VA — Today, Governor Glenn Youngkin received the Department of Education’s report, “Our Commitment to Virginians: High Expectations and Excellence for All Students.” The education report builds on Governor Youngkin’s direction in Executive Order Number One issued on his first day in office. The governor affirmed his guiding principles for addressing disturbing data trends and presented policy recommendations to restore excellence in education in Virginia.

“Virginia’s public schools have long enjoyed a reputation for academic excellence,” Governor Youngkin said. “But the data in this report demonstrates that the achievement gaps among Virginia students are worrisome and cannot be ignored. This report documents a clear and sobering lesson about the consequences for students when state leaders lower academic standards and dismantle accountability.

The Department of Education’s 33-page report details how the state’s policy choices and priorities over the past decade have resulted in lower student achievement in reading and math, wider achievement gaps, reduced transparency and an erosion of parental trust in Commonwealth public schools.

“Virginians deserve to know the truth about how our children are doing,” Education Secretary Aimee Guidera said. “Under Governor Youngkin’s leadership, we aim to be the most transparent and accountable state in the nation, while empowering parents and teachers with the knowledge and choices to do what’s best for each learner.

The main conclusions of the report are as follows:

• Virginia now has the lowest reading and math proficiency standards in the nation, leading to wide “honesty gaps” between student performance on state learning standards tests and performance at National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
• Despite statistically significant declines in Virginia students’ reading performance on the 2019 NAEP and state assessments, the Board of Education voted in 2020 to lower the proficiency standard on all elementary school SOL reading tests , intermediate and secondary.
• Board of Education credentialing standards — once an accountability model for other states — now downplay grade-level skills in reading and math and hide wide achievement gaps.
• Pre-pandemic results from college entrance exams taken by Virginia high school graduates in 2019 show wide disparities in college readiness, especially in math.
• Last fall, 42% of Virginia sophomores scored below the benchmark on the Commonwealth Early Literacy Screening Assessment.
• Homeschooling increased by 56% in 2020-21, with parents of 59,638 school-aged children choosing not to send their children to public schools. Despite returning to in-person instruction this year, parents of 55,769 students have chosen homeschooling over enrolling their children in public school. Additionally, 5,828 students have transferred from Virginia public schools to private schools in the state since the start of the 2020-2021 school year.

“I would like to emphasize that this report is not an indictment of our teachers, principals and other school leaders. They have worked tirelessly over the past few years under extraordinary conditions and circumstances,” said the Superintendent Jillian Balow “But local decision-making inevitably reflects priorities and policy choices determined at the state level. I am committed to working with Governor Youngkin, the state Board of Education, and the to reorganize Virginia’s K-12 priorities, raise expectations for all of our students, and create an accreditation system that is transparent, honest, and grades-first proficiency level.

The report also identifies Governor Youngkin’s guiding principles for education that will guide his administration’s work to restore excellence in education:

• Set and maintain high expectations for students, schools and ourselves.
• Advance the empowerment of parents and teachers to better serve students in partnership.
• Demand zero tolerance for discrimination in education and beyond.
• Foster innovation in all educational environments.
• Ensure transparency and accountability so that every child is seen and receives what they need to succeed.
• Ensuring preparation for post-secondary education so that all learners can succeed in life.
• Protect and encourage freedom of expression and research to ensure that every student learns to think, not what to think.

“The future prosperity of our Commonwealth depends on how well our students are prepared,” Governor Youngkin said. “Working alongside parents, teachers and policy makers, we will restore excellence in education and ensure that all students have access to quality educational opportunities that prepare them to succeed in our places of learning. work, our communities and our democracy.”