On behalf of Parents Defending Education Action, we commend the efforts by VDOE’s board to formalize and streamline the standards of accreditation across the state’s schools. Since pandemic school closures set students back, it is more important than ever that we focus classrooms to helping students meet the necessary standards and benchmarks that will help them succeed once they graduate from high school. This can only be done by implementing evidence-based efforts and targeted strategies that will help students master material, especially the ones who need it most. This will also help increase assessment transparency, which is key to keeping parents informed and connected to their children’s education. We applaud Gov. Youngkin and his board of education for continuing to make learning a top priority in their administration.