Bacon's Rebellion

At Least They’re Culturally Competent!

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by

James A. Bacon
in ,

by James A. Bacon

A couple of days ago I skewered New Jersey for enacting a law, effective Jan. 1, that removes a requirement for teachers to pass a reading, writing and mathematics test for licensure. Noting that Virginia teachers seeking initial licensure must pass the Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment (VCLA), I expressed the hope that the General Assembly “progressives,” who have done everything in their power to make Virginia more like New Jersey, didn’t get any ideas.

Too late.

It turns out that Virginia beat New Jersey to being New Jersey. In April the General Assembly passed — and Governor Glenn Youngkin signed — a similar bill, HB 731, introduced by Del. Briana Sewell, D-Prince William.

That bill requires the Board of Education to eliminate the requirement “for any individual to take and receive a passing score on the Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment as a condition of the initial award or renewal of a renewable license as a teacher in the Commonwealth.”

You can’t make this up.

Update: Read the comments. Readers make the case that the VCLA test was duplicative and unnecessary.

According to Richmond Sunlight, the bill sailed through both the House and Senate with nary a dissenting vote. While exempting minimum literacy standards from the requirements for licensure, the law preserves requirements for study or training in:

  • attention deficit disorder,
  • gifted education, including the use of multiple criteria to identify gifted student,
  • methods for improving communication between schools and family
  • recognition of child abuse,
  • first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation,
  • positive behavior interventions, crisis prevention and de-escalation, methods to reduce the need for the use of physical restraint and abuse, and
  • cultural competency.

Yes, there is a teacher shortage in Virginia. I get it. But of all the ways to lower the bar to qualify more job seekers, Virginia chose to eliminate minimum literacy standards?

It’s all too insane to believe. Surely I’m overlooking something. If you can make sense of this, please let me know.

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13 responses to “At Least They’re Culturally Competent!”

  1. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0989275a3b59d1843644e14d7cb5fe66e60aabed620791f0d64e43c038365e37.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/daae27718a58f6afabb8a32c4c157f3b6dc30b128ba8b19f6a544f6b6668c13f.png

  2. James McCarthy Avatar
    James McCarthy

    "Virginia chose to eliminate minimum literacy standards." This statement implies that the minimum literacy standards were meant to evaluate those of the teachers. The requirement actually was directed at the literacy communication skills of teachers, not their personal comprehension.

    The VCLA provides an evaluation of a candidate's communication and literacy skills necessary to teach and communicate effectively with parents and others in the education community.

    This criterion might better be evaluated upon a personal interview with a teacher candidate. Having earned a teaching/education degree, especially in a subject area, a candidate's literacy skills would be evident in grades.

  3. Hunter Avatar
    Hunter

    I do have to wonder whether the test is so easy that it doesn't really act to weed out incompetence. Any sense of that, Jim?

  4. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Again, like NJ, Virginia found the particular test to be redundant given the current testing requirements in college AND the subject matter expertise testing.

    Just a quick question, JB. How many standardized tests did you take to obtain your teaching certificate? Yeah, I thought so.

    You should make sure your pistola clears your pantaloons before discharging.

    Department of Educational Testing Department.

  5. WayneS Avatar
    WayneS

    If prospective teachers are still required to take a nationally recognized test, then I do not see the problem.

    As far as cost goes, perhaps the Virginia school system considering hiring a person as a teacher can pay for the applicant's first attempt at the test(s). If the applicant passes, then they're all set. If they fail, they're on their own for any future testing (and the locality might not want them as a teacher anyway).

  6. Matt Hurt Avatar
    Matt Hurt

    When you're dealing with the teacher shortage issue, there are at least two ways to address it. It seems that the option that many folks find favor with is lowering the bar to admission into the field. The option I don't hear being discussed is to maintain high standards and increase compensation to encourage more folks to enter the field. Both options provide a solution to the obvious problem, lack of warm bodies in teaching positions. However, I suspect that one option may provide better results than the other when it comes to student outcomes.

  7. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    I assume there are other requirements that teachers must meet education-wise that would make this particular test redundant or simply irrelevant. It is not lowering a bar if the bar being removed is lying on the floor.

  8. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Just to point out. One can be the most articulate and knowledgeable person that can be found and they are LOUSY at teaching!

    Not everyone can be a teacher. Not everyone who is a teacher, should be a teacher.

    I agree with Matt that more money is how to attract higher talent folks but you have to assure that they really are competent as teachers.

    And I think one of the talent pools that is ignored is retired teachers who could, with the right incentives, be lured back into the profession on a
    more limited, less than full time basis.

    We might need to consider changing the current public education model to get the most benefit we can from retired professionals – as mentors but also as grade level leaders.

  9. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Often, a bill passes that seems to be absurd. However, when such a bill passes unanimously in both houses and the governor signs it, that is a sure indication that the bill is not as bad as it seems on its face. One needs to find out the background.

    I just took the time to listen to the discussion of this bill in subcommittee last year. (Yes, the videos from past sessions are available.) Here is a summary of the explanation of the justification for the bill. In its 2023 teacher pipeline study, JLARC recommended deleting the requirement that prospective teachers take the VCLA. The test is duplicative. All students in teacher education courses in colleges and universities are required to take the VCLA and a national assessment test (Praxis). The VCLA is outdated. It was developed in 2007 and has not been updated since then. It covers material "that are not necessary for at least some types of teachers to be successful in the classroom," such as advanced copy editing. https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt576-3.pdf

  10. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Perhaps journalists, and those claiming to be such, should be required to take a core competencies test… nah! Why bother! They have their Press Pass. Hmm, press pass? Oh… now, I get it.

  11. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Core Competency? Clearly a Praxis Exam is needed…
    https://x.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1874937898002493886?mx=2

  12. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
    https://praxis.ets.org/test-takers/about-the-test.html
    $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

    Something must be done given the Speaker of the House gave a prayer in the House yesterday that he falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson. Tsk, tsk, tsk, the state of education in this country is very sad.

  13. Clarity77 Avatar
    Clarity77

    When it comes to this testing issue it would be interesting to delve into and obtain a current status as to how the H1B visa program is being applied in Virginia at all levels primary to tertiary.

    I'll never forget having to put up with an unintelligible grad physics TA at UVA which only served to be counterproductive and highly frustrating as to learning the subject. A total waste of whatever he was being paid. And that was 50 years ago!

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