The state of Virginia, which used to be reliably red and mostly conservative, is providing more evidence of an increasingly blue and liberal hue.
Virginia is “considering” renovating its math courses. As the publication Virginia Mercury noted, “In webinars (Virginia Department of Education) officials [said] data, especially standardized test scores, show Black, Hispanic and low-income students have lower pass rates on state math assessments than White and Asian students. Those critical of the initiative have argued that Virginia is lowering its standards in favor of certain students instead of improving instruction to help more children reach advanced courses.”
Initial reports, fueled by one county official, had this as a done deal, but that the state is even thinking about recommending such changes is indicative of where we are as a country. Instead of elevating students to standards to help them achieve more in life, we lower those standards, sending a message that underachievement is OK.
If Virginia follows through – and officials deny a final decision has been made – it will add to America’s decline in essential subjects. It would be another example of the soft bigotry of low expectations.
According to a National Center for Education Statistics (NAEP) report in 2019, math and science scores for fourth- and eighth-graders have dropped since 2017.