Category: Education (K-12)
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Equal Protection, Affirmative Action and Effecting Generational Change
by James C. Sherlock America is the most successful nation in the history of the world because of the freedoms and rights guaranteed by our Constitution. More than a hundred other nations have emulated the American Constitution. Without constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and rights, we would be chained to the whims of the state. Most immediately…
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A Simple Statement of Fact about the Public Schools
by James C. Sherlock I know. Schools. Again. But Virginia’s schools have been shown to be getting worse faster than those of other states. Perhaps we should do something. Read the National Assessment Board’s press release from June 21st. One paragraph drew my attention: The LTT assessments in reading and math measure fundamental skills among nationally…
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Public School Clubs: What Happened To Chess, Drama and Debate?
by Kerry Dougherty Never mind that public school test scores are plummeting and that kids from coast to coast are falling hopelessly behind. The Biden Administration is focused on one thing: “inclusion.” On June 21 the Department of Education issued a “toolkit” called “Creating Inclusive and Nondiscriminatory School Environments For LGBTQI+ Students.” Included in the…
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Henrico Schools Are Failing Its Poor Students
by Dick Hall-Sizemore John Butcher’s recent article on the relationship of SOL reading scores and funding per pupil prompted me to examine the most recent (2022) 3rd grade reading scores of students in Henrico County, where I live. The scores for disadvantaged students, particularly Black students, are awful. I decided to present my findings to…
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NAEP Before and After COVID
by John Butcher We’ve been hearing about the post-COVID declines in scores on the National Assessment of Educational Process (NAEP) tests. The NAEP database offers some (in fact, an abundance of) details. Here, as a small sample, are the 4th and 8th grade reading and mathematics data for the nation and Virginia. First, reading:
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Countering the VEA… on a Shoestring Budget
The Internet ad displayed above, produced by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, reached 12,000 Virginia teachers. The return on the modest investment has been impressive. Says Co-President Chris Braunlich: “Inquiries about alternative educator associations are pouring in. Some have already cancelled their union membership (taking $700 in annual dues with them).” —…
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Virginia Beach School Board Holds Virtue-Signaling Vote at 2:15 a.m.
by Kerry Dougherty Wanted: One more member with common sense for the Virginia Beach School Board. Unfortunately, that won’t happen until the next election in 2024. In the meantime, the narrow woke majority that did its best to keep masks on kids, keep schools closed, dumbed down the city’s public schools and pandered to special…
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Post Attacks Homeschooling Because It Succeeds
by Derrick Max Over the last few years, homeschooling has grown in Virginia by almost 40 percent. In fact, homeschoolers in Virginia now account for almost 60,000 students — making homeschooling the fifth largest school district in the Commonwealth. Because homeschoolers are self-funded, this saves Virginia’s state and local governments almost $800 million per year.…
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School Boards, Model Policies and Parental Rights in the Raising of Children
by James C. Sherlock The Virginia Beach School Board will vote tomorrow. The announced subject will be transgender rights in schools. It is couched by The Virginian-Pilot as the school board defending transgender students against “unnecessarily cruel policies.“ As opposed, one supposes, to necessarily cruel policies. The local paper refers, of course, to the Youngkin…
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New Style of Computer Adaptive Testing for Math and Reading SOLs in Spring 2023
by James C. Sherlock End-of-year SOLs will be released this summer and are much anticipated to see how well kids are recovering from enforced shutdowns during COVID. Some readers know the current testing system like the backs of their hands. But nearly all of us took standardized tests in school in which everyone took the…
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A Rebound Towards Excellence — and Smiles — in Newport News Public Schools
by James C. Sherlock The national and international headlines were awful. The shooting of Abby Zwerner at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News was horrible. The investigative reports were chilling. Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) has chosen the right path forward — positivity, community consultation and openness centered on the children. There are signs that…
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Thanks, Loudoun County! We Needed That.
by Kerry Dougherty Dear Loudoun County, Thanks so much for hiring Aaron Spence as your new superintendent of schools. Love, Virginia Beach Good news for those who care about returning sanity and common sense to Virginia Beach Public Schools: superintendent Aaron Spence is leaving to head up the troubled Loudoun County Public schools. Spence is…
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What the Minutes Say About Public Education in Virginia
by James Wyatt Whitehead, V School may be out for the summer, but the report card for the Commonwealth’s public schools is headed for the inbox. It is hoped that progress can be measured and built upon. School boards face a siege of ailments not likely to be cured overnight. The challenges range from pandemic-era…
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A Fool’s Errand Finds Takers in Charlottesville
by James C. Sherlock As an experiment, I went to the UVa Ed School research page and searched “all topics” for “Charter Schools.” The response: “No research items found matching your search.” So, I expanded the search to “Charter” and got the same response. I then investigated what should have proven a promising lead. The…
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UVa’s Undergraduate Female/Male Demographics vs. Diversity, Equity and Federal Law
by James C. Sherlock The University of Virginia measures its diversity efforts by statistics. We’ll hold them to their own standards. That seems only equitable. President Ryan has said that the demographic composition of students is easy to measure. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office, proving him right, proudly displays a Diversity Dashboard. All eyes,…