Virginia social studies leaders warn proposed testing shift could sideline critical thinking

Some Virginia social studies leaders are sounding the alarm over a proposed change to how student performance in history and social science is measured, warning it could swap critical-thinking assessments for memorization-driven multiple-choice exams.

Their concerns come as the State Board of Education prepares to continue its discussions on the proposed accountability changes, a debate that has been underway since the summer.

According to the Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium, or VSSLC, about 63 of the state’s 132 school divisions already use locally awarded verified credit through alternative assessments. The consortium is worried revisions could upend that process, which currently includes a portfolio of student work and inquiry-based state tasks.

“What our organization was hoping for was local flexibility,” said Danyael Graham, VSSLC president.

Under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, or ESEA, any state — including Virginia —must update its Consolidated State Plan and secure approval from the U.S. Department of Education. That process is significantly faster than going through the Virginia Administrative Process Act, which can take months or years.

ESEA only requires ​​states to assess students in reading, math and science. Adding history and social science to the state accountability model is optional, not federally mandated.

The proposed changes stem from Virginia’s recent overhaul of its accountability system and are intended to allow the state to submit data from the first year of that redesign. They also incorporate feedback from stakeholders, including community members and educators such as Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, who urged the board in a June 2 letter to add U.S. History or Civics in the state accountability system.

VanValkenburg signed the letter alongside representatives from the American Historical Association, National Council for the Social Studies, Virginia Social Science Association, Virginia Council for the Social Studies, iCivics, the CivXNow Coalition and Virginia Civics. The letter argued that although Virginia is “stronger than many other states in emphasizing social studies education,” the subject still has been “de-prioritized” in recent years.

The groups asked the board to join other states in adding social studies as “a measure of school quality and incorporating it into Virginia’s accountability structure.” 

They added that such move is critical “not just for the sake of social studies knowledge and skills, but because when students have deeper content knowledge and vocabulary, it bolsters their reading proficiency, their ability to make sense of the world around them, and their confidence in navigating our public democratic institutions.”

The VSSLC declined to sign the letter, citing a lack of guarantees that inquiry-based assessments remain in place. Members also said the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) didn’t consult them before last month’s board discussions.

VanValkenburg said he made the request because he believes “one of the most important parts of public education is to foster civic knowledge and civic understanding so that people can be good citizens.”

Last August, the board approved a split accreditation model — one system to determine whether schools meet legal and regulatory requirements, and another to provide “timely and transparent information on student and school performance.”

The regulations are tied to the board’s stated goals of high expectations and learning recovery following pandemic-era losses. 

Conflict claims

Social studies leaders argue the proposed revisions create several conflicts including one tied to whether teachers can develop their own instructional resources. They also claim the proposal clashes with legislation that supports “permissive local alternative assessment” — the backbone of the locally awarded verified credit option — instead of Standards of Learning (SOL) multiple choice exams in non-federally mandated subjects. 

That language was included in House Bill 1957, sponsored by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, earlier this year to strengthen how statewide tests are administered and evaluated. VanValkenburg sponsored a similar bill that failed last session.

VanValkenburg said the legislation was intended to place “guardrails” on local assessments to ensure they are “done well” and “meet a certain quality,”noting that some are rigorous while others fall short.

Graham said educators “were excited to move” toward local assessments in social studies because they shifted testing from “quiz bowl style testing” to “document-based questions and inquiry, where students are answering questions using sources.”

Beau Dickenson, a consortium board member recently named the 2025 National Social Studies Leader of the Year by the National Social Studies Leaders Association, said the move toward locally designed assessments was meant to replace older methods focused on rote memorization.

“It’s really innovative, it’s the future of the discipline and I would say it’s more rigorous than discrete facts and can bubble in a scantron sheet,” Dickenson said.

He added that educators aren’t rejecting accountability — they are asking the board to find consistency and balance across the commonwealth, because reverting to content-heavy tests would mean “taking several steps backwards.”

Consortium members also say the revisions contradict prior VDOE assurances that teachers could develop their own instructional and resources.

“It doesn’t seem that this (plan) provides that, (and) it was also something that was promised to us in our standards,” Graham said.

Social studies leaders say they are unsure whether locally developed assessments will count toward accountability and whether changes would be implemented mid-school year or in 2026-2027.

A VDOE presentation published last month shows the board will review numerous elements of the Consolidated State Plan on Thursday, including how the state measures success, which courses qualify as “advanced,” and how struggling schools receive support.

A final review is scheduled for Dec. 11 before the plan is submitted to the U.S. Department of Education.

Kenita Matthews, a VDOE spokeswoman, said no final decisions have been made about history and social science because the agency is still gathering stakeholder input.

“We look forward to continued collaboration with our educators and families to prepare students to be civically engaged citizens and ready for success in college, career, and military pathways,” Matthews said. “Their input is essential as we work to increase expectations and continue aligning with research-based practices.”

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