During the election season, Virginia’s two major-party candidates for governor have clashed on everything from environmental issues to health care. This week a new division is emerging on education policy.
Should statewide standardized tests offer the same multiple choice options in every subject to students in Petersburg and Alexandria? Or should some local assessments be created that would allow a student to write an essay about the Great Depression, for example? That’s became a flashpoint in the hotly contested race for governor. Jim Livingston is president of the Virginia Education Association, which is endorsing Democrat Ralph Northam.
"When we’re talking about local performance assessments, those are in subject areas in which there is no state accountability requirement.”
Fifth-grade writing, for example. Or third-grade history. In other words, the local assessments that Northam supports would not be used to determine accreditation. Former Board of Education president Chris Braunlich supports Republican Ed Gillespie, who is critical of local assessments.
“Once we create different requirements for different groups of students, all we do is marginalize those students with low exceptions. And it’s absolutely the wrong approach, and it’s going to hurt their futures.”
The Board of Education is expected to vote on the controversial proposal to create local assessments November 16, a week after the election.
The Virginia Education Association is a financial partner of RADIO IQ and Virginia Public Radio.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
