Tag: Todd Truitt
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Virginia Board of Education Rejects Surprise Proposal to Delay Cut Score Increases…For Now
The Virginia Board of Education on Thursday rejected a last-minute proposal from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to delay implementation of tougher passing standards (“cut scores”) on Standards of Learning (SOL) exams. Board members repeatedly emphasized we have the lowest math and reading cut scores in the country and that Virginia students, especially the…
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Spanberger Admin Proposes Extending Virginia’s Lowest-in-Nation English and Math State Standards for 2 More Years
After years of delays, the proposed additional delay sets up a likely strong push for another delay in 2 years by powerful lobbying groups for those who work in the K-12 system… at the expense of Virginia students and parents by Todd Truitt As a supporter of Governor Abigail Spanberger, I’ve been impressed by much…
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A Q&A on the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit
by Josh Cowen Publisher’s Note by Todd Truitt As Virginians await Governor Abigail Spanberger’s decision regarding continued participation in the new federal scholarship tax credit program—originally opted into by former Governor Glenn Youngkin in early 2026—Josh Cowen’s Q&A below offers an overview of how the program functions. Cowen, a longtime critic of traditional private school…
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Virginia’s Decision on Federal School Choice Tax Credit Program Looms
Two Democratic Governors Join Federal School Choice Tax Credit Program While Virginia’s State Program Faces Sunset by Todd Truitt Two Democratic governors have now chosen to participate in a new federal school choice tax-credit scholarship program. New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced this week that her state will opt in, following Colorado Governor Jared Polis.…
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Accountability Is the Broccoli of Education Reform. States Must Eat More of It.
by Jeb Bush, The 74 Publisher’s note by Todd Truitt Virginia’s recent overhaul of its school accountability system and upcoming overhaul of its assessment system offers a timely case study for the argument advanced in Jeb Bush’s OpEd below. His arguments on the importance of accountability and assessment largely mirror those made by the leading educational…
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Spanberger Signs Tighter School Cellphone Ban Into Law
by Todd Truitt Virginia’s move toward cellphone-free schools has now become a bipartisan through-line across two administrations. Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger yesterday signed Senator Stella Pekarsky’s (D-Fairfax County) follow-up school cell phone legislation, which had unanimously passed the Senate and overwhelmingly passed the House of Delegates. The law tightens the existing ban by replacing the…
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Virginia School Officials Should Not Be Their Own Regulators
by Todd Truitt As Virginia’s new Democratic Governor, Abigail Spanberger will soon shape the direction of public education statewide through five appointments to the Virginia Board of Education. Based on her longstanding focus on transparency and eliminating conflicts of interest, her administration can chart a different course with respect to a recent Virginia practice. The…
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Senate Looks to Tighten School Cell Phone Ban
by Todd Truitt A Virginia Senate bill sponsored by Senator Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax County, would tighten the state’s school student cellphone ban law by replacing the word “restrict” with “prohibit,” a change supporters say is necessary after local school divisions — particularly Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) — interpreted the current statute more loosely than…
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Senate Bill Grabs Political Third Rail of Diploma Exit Exams
by Todd Truitt Senator Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax County, is sponsoring a bill this legislative session that would require the Virginia Board of Education to develop and “implement alternative graduation pathways” that allow students to earn a Standard Diploma without passing the statewide Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments. Currently to graduate from high school in Virginia,…
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Virginia’s New K-12 School Report Cards
by Todd Truitt In December 2025, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) issued new school report cards for the 2024-25 school year under the new school accountability system. The school report cards provide an overview of schools’ performance under the new system, as well as summarize such results into 1 of 4 summative ratings: Distinguished;…
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Mississippi and Louisiana Schools’ Decade-Long Surge Past Virginia
by Todd Truitt Much attention has been paid lately to what’s being called the “Southern Surge” in K-12 education on the National Assessment of Education Progress (aka, the nation’s report card or NAEP). Misinformed statements made during the recent New Jersey gubernatorial debate about Mississippi and Louisiana’s educational results have shed new light on the…
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Virginia Pushes Accelerated Math Enrollment
by Todd Truitt Virginia will have a new law taking effect next school year requiring high-performing students to be automatically enrolled in accelerated or advanced mathematics. This new law complements another recent state action by Virginia to increase enrollment in accelerated middle school math courses via changes to its accountability system. As a result, Virginia is likely…
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How to Spend $10 Million for Worse Results
by Todd Truitt The Virginia joint conference committee budget report contains an additional $12 million intended to bring much needed improvement to Virginia K-12 math education. The budget language is purported to be a first step to repeat the great improvements that the Virginia Literacy Act is making with evidence-based instructional methods. However, the wording…
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An Overdue SOL Assessment Reform Bill
by Todd Truitt Virginia’s assessments for its Standards of Learning (SOL) could soon get a muchVirginia’s assessments for its Standards of Learning (SOL) will soon hopefully be getting a much-needed revamp. Senator Schuyler Van Valkenburg, D-Henrico County, and Delegate Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax County, have proposed a bill to significantly upgrade our assessment system. The bill…
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A Commonsense Bill for Math SOL Exams in Spanish
by Todd Truitt The Senate Public Education Subcommittee advanced a commonsense bill negotiated Thursday by Senator Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, and the Youngkin administration, providing for math Standards of Learning (SOL) exams in Spanish for beginning English Learners, as most states provide. The bill addresses the alignment of Virginia’s new school ratings system with federal law,…