I write in support of the revisions to the Standards of Accreditation regulations for the proposed School Performance and Support Framework.

The current system of accreditation is not working.  While there was a plunge in student achievement scores after-COVID, the overwhelming majority of Virginia’s schools are nonetheless deemed to be performing at the highest level. The system needs to reflect changes in achievement.   Families and communities need an honest and transparent accounting of school performance so that they can advocate for improvements within their schools.

I support the Framework’s emphasis on mastery over growth. While growth is important, students need to achieve proficiency, not just journey toward it.   VDOE has worked hard to pull together well-thought out and vetted standards of learning.  We should be requiring schools and students to pass the lower end of those standards.  

I support giving chronic absenteeism a meaningful weight in the performance measure. If we want students to progress academically, we need them to be at school.

I strongly support the inclusion of middle school advanced coursework in the performance measure, particularly for math. We want to incentivize schools to meet the needs of all of their students, including the advanced students.   The goal should be to challenge students to their fullest potential.

Lastly, we need to find ways to increase schools’ accountability for newly arrived English Learners to ensure that they are building content knowledge as well as English proficiency.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments and for the excellent work that has been done with the School Performance and Support Framework.