The General Assembly has advanced key elements of Governor Bob McDonnell’s incremental reform for K-12 education, including one measure that would overhaul teacher accountability and another that would provide for an A through F rating system for schools. But the legislature has shot down any bill that would challenge the status quo, such as provisions to foster more charter schools and create a virtual public school alternative.
Totally unaddressed is the underlying cause of the stupefying increases in education spending with barely noticeable results in educational achievement. This chart from the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice says it all:
Where has the money gone over the past 20 years? Not to teachers but to administrators and staff. Attaway, Virginia. Keep on spending, baby! It’s getting us nowhere.
— JAB
