Warnings in 2020 About Easing Academic Standards

Two years ago, The Washington Post editorially proclaimed “Virginia made a mistake by easing academic standards”, and warned of the coming consequences. On Thursday, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Department of Education compiled and released those consequences in a report entitled Our Commitment to Virginians.

According to the WP article, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has made no secret of his distaste for SOLs, and some lawmakers are even pushing for a further weakening of the system. Legislation introduced in both the House and Senate would further lower the number of SOL tests students would be required to take.

Gov. Younkin’s administration published released a report outlining the consequences of easing academic standards, He will now work with the General Assembly to get our educational standards back on track. However, the current response of the Left suggests that’s an uphill climb this time. Their reaction to actually informing taxpayers and parents of the consequences was apoplectic, with charges of “cherry-picking,” “outright lie,” “disgusting and dishonest” and the obligatory accusation that Youngkin wants to “take us back to the days of Jim Crow.”

This is not the path to progress parents in the Commonwealth expect.

Source: Thomas Jefferson Institute