After teachers union’s concerns, Va. education department extends deadline for grading system committees

On Thursday, Virginia’s largest teachers organization cautioned that the Department of Education could be short of teachers to sit on the agency’s committees tasked with adjusting the state’s grading system. State education leaders pushed back, asserting that teachers would still be pivotal participants on the committees and extended the period they could apply to participate to May 2.

The concerns surfaced after the agency announced the committees’ application process on April 17, a day before the Virginia Education Association (VEA) office and some schools closed for Good Friday. The original deadline for teachers to apply to participate was April 24, but  the interest the agency received prompted the pushed-back cut off date, according to VDOE Superintendent of Public Instruction Emily Anne Gullickson.

Historically in Virginia, teachers have been central to adjusting cut scores to determine whether K-12 students meet proficiency levels, by reviewing assessment questions and determining the minimum score needed to be considered passing. Educators must apply to serve on the committees to demonstrate their understanding of grade-level content and assessments. 

However, this year’s process will include educators, instructional specialists, and community stakeholders such as parents and business leaders. Community members will undergo a selection process led by the board and the governor’s office. Committee meetings will begin next month.

The VEA, which was also closed Easter Monday, had said the short application period left them scrambling to notify teachers about the opportunity to serve on the committees. 

“Why would you let teachers know about something like this with only days to do something about it?” asked Carol Bauer, VEA president. “We wouldn’t do that to our students. The paperwork involved in this process can take an hour or more. It begs the question — does VDOE really want teachers’ input on this?”

Bauer said teachers’ presence on the assessment committees is essential because they work with students every day and they know them better than anyone else in Virginia’s school systems. 

“They understand their students’ needs and how to meet them,” Bauer said. “Not having teachers involved in important decisions that affect their students’ futures would be an injustice. It wouldn’t make sense.”

However, state education board President Grace Creasey, an appointee of Gov. Glenn Youngkin and former educator, said teachers will continue to be key contributors on the committees. 

“These committees are generally made up of more teachers than other stakeholders,” Creasey said. “I have personally participated in them during my 12 years in the classroom and understand the importance of ensuring teacher voice in this process. I’m excited for the standard setting committee work to begin.”

Creasey also defended the application process, stating there have been “several rounds” of internal and external reviews with stakeholders, testing provider Pearson and the agency’s Technical Advisory Committee.

Gullickson said in a statement to the Mercury that as of Wednesday, the agency received 231 applicants with 71% of those being educators.

The Virginia Board of Education will take a final vote on the updated performance standards in July, after staff presents the proposals for review in June.

If approved, the overhauled standards will not take effect until spring 2026.

Raising the benchmarks

Raising academic benchmarks in public education are part of a broader push by Youngkin’s administration to “restore excellence in education,” which includes hiking standards in core subjects, increasing transparency and accountability and overhauling the state’s assessment system.

The administration’s goal is to adjust the cut scores to better align with the rigor of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The administration has often referred to the NAEP data to show the “honesty gap,” or the disparity between state-level proficiency standards and the more stringent NAEP standards.

Between 2017-2022, Virginia’s fourth-grade reading and math results showed a stunning 40-percentage-point gap between the state’s Standards of Learning assessment tests and NAEP assessments. 

The governor has asserted that the state’s current proficiency standards are the result of the previous Board of Education lowering cut scores and altering school accreditation standards. 

However, Anne Holton, a former state education secretary and a current Board of Education member appointed by former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, defended the previous board’s approach. 

Holton, the only board member not appointed by Youngkin, has stated that Virginia’s pass rates aligned with the NAEP’s “basic” achievement level, which reflects, according to NAEP, “partial mastery of the knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at a given grade.” 

Instead, the Youngkin administration wants Virginia to meet NAEP’s “proficient” standard — defined as a student demonstrating a deeper understanding of complex topics and the ability to apply them in real-world situations.

Holton said the process of shifting to the NAEP’s higher standard would bring about a dramatic change for the commonwealth. 

“There are arguably good reasons to do it, but it’s not gonna make any kids smarter,” Holton said. “No kid can jump higher because the hoop got raised.” 

Instead, the state’s focus should remain on what helps kids learn better, Holton said, such as implementing the Virginia Literacy Act, “which has been strong and has helped to make kids smarter, but we needed more of that.”

This article first appeared on Virginia Mercury and is republished here with permission. Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence.