My name is Rachel Levy and I am a public school parent & supporter and public school teacher with a PhD in educational leadership and policy. I live in Hanover County, Virginia.

I am firmly opposed to the proposed VDOE accountability measures currently being considered and to the shock-doctrine crisis narrative being promoted by the Youngkin administration and his corporate consultants.

There are many things that can be done to make our schools better for all student--and we should always be striving to--but these accountability measures aren't among them and, in fact, will harm our students, our schools, and our communities. These test and punish policies are recycled from 15 years ago, from the Obama and McDonnell administrations--they didn't work then and were very unpopular, and the same thing is true now. They will unfairly label the vast majority of our public schools as failing, which will set the stage for state takeover of many of our schools and privatization measures. State takeover of schools is not an effective reform strategy, and neither is privatization. It is good, however for corporate and private interests, and it is the agenda of right-wing think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and Fordham, and even of centrist organizations like the Gates Foundation.

Virginians value and their local public schools and do not want the agenda of these think tanks imposed on their them and their schools. They don't want their schools to be subject to state takeover and privatization. To make our public schools better, we need to invest in them adequately, offer more educational options under the umbrella of our public schools districts, and make sure every student receives a relevant and meaningful education. That's what Virginia parents, students, and citizens want for their public schools.

As a former English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher, I can also tell you that three semesters will not be enough for our ELLs to gain the English proficiency needed to be able to have a fair chance to perform well on these tests. Research shows that such proficiency can take as long as seven years!

Thank you for your time and consideration.