logo
After teachers union's concerns, Va. education dep't. extends deadline for grading system committees

After teachers union's concerns, Va. education dep't. extends deadline for grading system committees

Yahoo25-04-2025

A cup of pencils sit on top of a classroom desk in Virginia (Photo by Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)
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 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.'
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Nevada unions, elected officials rally in support of ICE protests
Nevada unions, elected officials rally in support of ICE protests

Yahoo

time35 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Nevada unions, elected officials rally in support of ICE protests

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Amid the triple-degree heat, Las Vegas union members, workers and elected officials rallied in protest of escalating action from federal immigration agents—wary Nevada could be next. The afternoon rally was called together by Nevada's SEIU Local 1107 in solidarity with their California chapter following the arrest of SEIU president David Huerta. Federal authorities arrested Huerta for interfering with law enforcement operations during an anti-ICE protest. 'He was out exercising his constitutional rights, and they arrested him,' Erika Watanabe, a SEUI local 1107 member, said. 'They injured him, then arrested him, and then detained him.' Huerta was released Monday afternoon according to CBS News and is set to appear in court for initial appearance on one felony charge. The Las Vegas rally of over a hundred people at the steps of the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse featured speakers from ACLU-Nevada, Nevada Immigration Coalition, NAACP, Culinary Union, the office of Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, and Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom. 'If Trump wants to bring the National Guard into Las Vegas, he's going to destroy our economy forever,' Segerblom said. 'Because we're not going to just let the National Guard do anything. We're going to fight the National Guard.' Segerblom continued to express concerns about the possibility of National Guard troops becoming active in Nevada. 'Without undocumented workers, this town would shut down and if [Trump] wants to dare to bring the National Guard in here, or, even better, the Marines, this town is going to blow up,' he said. The Trump administration's efforts in California received some praise but mostly significant pushback. Tedd Pappageorge, the Culinary Union Secretary Treasurer responded to claims the federal government is responding to people simply breaking the law. 'No, it's actually not as simple as that,' he said. 'What's really going on is we have folks that have been here for five years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years. They're parts of the community. They go to our churches, their kids go to our schools, and they power this economy.' The Culinary Union cited additional concerns with alleged escalating ICE raids in Nevada pointing to the Nevada Immigration Coalition's post of 12 raids over the Easter weekend. 'What we know is that at the end of the day, the idea that these ICE agents are going to go to schools and churches and workplaces and take folks out that are otherwise law abiding,' Pappageorge said. 'Nobody voted for that. Everybody agrees there needs to be a secure border, and everybody agrees that violent criminals should be deported. But this is the United States of America. There has been due process.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Nursery parents win closure review but concerns remain
Nursery parents win closure review but concerns remain

Yahoo

time15 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Nursery parents win closure review but concerns remain

Aberdeenshire Council has agreed to pause the mothballing of four rural nurseries. Parents were told in April that Ballogie, Crossroads, Glass and Sandhaven nurseries would close at the end of term. Councillors have now agreed to put those decisions on hold while it reviews its guidance around how it consults with families. Campaigners have welcomed the move, but said they had lost confidence in the local authority. At a special meeting of the full council, councillors agreed to pause all future mothballing - which means closing premises but keeping them in a condition ready for future use - while a review of guidance was carried out. During the meeting, councillors on the local authority's ruling administration decided not to allow members of the public to give their views. Campaigner and parent Lindsay Love told BBC Scotland News: ''We all came hoping to speak on behalf of our communities and we were silenced.''' She said she had mixed emotions about the decision to pause mothballing. Ms Love said: ''I'm nervous that they are actually going to move forward with integrity. I feel like they're trying to control the narrative now. "We just need to make sure that we're protecting our nurseries and our rural communities as best as we can." She added: "Whilst is it a good thing that they've decided to pause the mothballing, I don't have a huge amount of confidence in them as an institution to do the right thing.'' More stories from North East Scotland, Orkney and Shetland Listen to news from North East Scotland on BBC Sounds Council leader Gillian Owen said the council had carefully reflected on what parents had been calling for. No timescale was given for the review. Ms Owen said: ''I think we're looking at doing a review quite swiftly but we've got to wait for the Scottish government guidelines.'' She denied families had been "silenced" by not being allowed to speak at the meeting. The councillor added: "We've actually made the changes that they want. ''They must look at that as an actual celebration, not as a slight.'' When the move to mothball the nurseries was announced at the start of the Easter school holidays, it sparked a backlash from local communities. Since then, families have been campaigning to keep them open, arguing the decision was made without proper consultation. The Scottish government also wrote to Aberdeenshire Council to highlight the need to consult parents in such cases. Last week, the local authority's ruling administration said it wanted to pause the controversial plans. Aberdeenshire Council Tory leader stands down Nursery mothballing move taking 'extreme toll' Officials mothballing school branded undemocratic Aberdeenshire Council

Spanberger hunts for votes in MAGA-rich pockets of Virginia and more state headlines
Spanberger hunts for votes in MAGA-rich pockets of Virginia and more state headlines

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

Spanberger hunts for votes in MAGA-rich pockets of Virginia and more state headlines

The state Capitol. (Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury) • 'A Virginia Democrat hunts for votes in rural pockets where MAGA has strengthened its grip.' — Associated Press • 'Shannon Taylor touts her experience in run for Virginia attorney general.' — VPM News • 'How much revenue do tolls bring in to Northern Virginia?' — WUSA9 • 'Small child diagnosed with measles confirmed as Virginia's third case in 2025.' — WRIC • 'Local judge indicted on charge of bribery of a Spotsylvania County public official.' — Fredericksburg Free Press SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store