As a new report shows 85% of Virginia public schools were fully accredited this year, Gov. Glenn Youngkin reiterated concerns that the current metric does not accurately reflect performance. The figure is slightly lower than last year, when 89% of schools received full accreditation.
In a news release, officials noted that no schools were denied accreditation, even though the state was still behind pre-pandemic test scores in reading and math for students in grades three through eight. degree. Last month, state education leaders celebrated nominal gains in test scores compared to last year, as well as a significant decline in chronic absenteeism, two factors in measuring accreditation.
In Northern Virginia, Alexandria had four schools accredited with conditions, up from two schools the year before. Two schools were conditionally accredited in Arlington, where all schools were fully accredited last year. Three schools were accredited with conditions in Fairfax and two schools in Loudounin both cases compared to a school accredited with conditions the previous year.
Youngkin (R) has repeatedly called the state’s accreditation model a broken system that “does not provide a clear picture of our schools’ academic achievement and progress to parents, teachers, and local school divisions.”
“As soon as I took office, I committed to reversing the systematic lowering of standards and lack of transparency in Virginia’s education system,” Youngkin said in a statement. “As students struggle to recover from pandemic learning loss, it is more important than ever to prioritize high expectations, transparency and accountability. We must be honest with ourselves and recognize that too many students and schools are not on the path to success”.
The Monday, Sept. 30, announcement comes as the state is implementing a new system to change the way it measures school success, a measure the state board of education has been analyzing since 2022. The state board is made up of all appointed by Youngkin except one.
The new system, which was finalized last month, divides accreditation and accountability into two measures. Schools will earn an accreditation rating based on whether they meet basic state requirements, such as staffing ratios and whether buildings are up to code.
Schools will also receive an accountability rating that takes into account parameters such as subject mastery and how much student performance has improved over a period of time. It will also measure student readiness based on factors such as chronic absenteeism and advanced courses.
Schools will be divided into four categories based on their ratings: Distinguished, On Track, Off Track, and Needs Intensive Support. The state board has projected that more than 60 percent of schools could be labeled “off course” or “in need of intensive support.” The state plans to begin collecting assessment data this school year and will fully implement the new grading systems next year.
In recent weeks, critics have expressed concern about some elements of the new system, such as its emphasis on measuring students’ mastery of subjects, rather than measuring their performance. Some have also claimed that the move was a political decision to portray schools in a bad light.
Much of the debate about school accountability and measurement is not new. Policy experts have long been divided over the best ways to measure the success of schools and students since the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind program in 2002. States are still required to develop accountability plans under the Every Child Succeeds Actwhich replaced NCLB in 2015, but there is more flexibility for states to decide what to measure.
In Virginia, school district leaders have expressed concerns about what this will mean for their schools. In Fairfax County, home to the state’s largest district, Superintendent Michelle Reid expressed concern about how rankings could end up reflecting the demographics of schools rather than the quality of education.
“Under the new system, schools with a higher number of economically disadvantaged students are likely to have lower academic performance.”while schools with fewer economically disadvantaged students have higher academic performance,” Reid wrote. “It is concerning that, under the new system, the overall state of a school’s performance may be determined largely by sociopolitical factors that are outside our immediate control, rather than by the quality of instruction and support that our dedicated staff provides to all our students.”
Some families are concerned that the new rankings could divert resources, such as high-quality teachers and students from wealthy families, from a school that is “off course” or “in need of intensive support.” Helen Marcks, 46, has two children enrolled at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School in Arlington. Marcks said she was concerned about what this could mean for her children’s school, which is made up of nearly 50% English language learners and 48% economically disadvantaged students.
“I don’t know what the long-term consequences of that would be,” Marcks said. “Could it mean that teachers wouldn’t want to work there if they could work somewhere labeled “developing”?” Advocates have noted that many families are already seeking school ratings from third-party groups like GreatSchools and Niche, and hope the new system will allow the state to better channel money and resources to schools that need the most support.
The federal government requires the state to identify the bottom 5 percent of schools to receive intensive support and federal dollars. Under Virginia’s new plan, school divisions with 10 or more schools, or at least 40 percent of their campuses, identified as receiving “comprehensive support” will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the state Department of Education to develop a improvement plan.
