Compass Point
A Weekly Collection of Data, Articles and Insights from the Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute
A project of the Virginia Commonwealth University's Center for Public Policy
L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Articles of Interest
State & Local Policy

U.Va. Head: School to Be National Leader on Campus Safety
Associated Press
January 30, 2015
After being thrown into the national spotlight on issues of sexual assault, the University of Virginia will consider plans to create a research institute on violence, offer new courses on campus safety and use surveys to create new strategies — all in an effort to become a national leader in improving campus safety.

U.Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan made the remarks Friday during a speech to the campus community to address "recent issues."

Recently, a U.Va. student was abducted and killed, and then Rolling Stone magazine published a story describing a culture of sexual violence at the school. Sullivan called the previous semester one of the most traumatic in the university's history.

Va. School Board Drops Christian Homeschool Policy After Public Backlash
The Christian Times
January 26, 2015

A Virginia school district has done away with a "religious exemption policy" that allowed school officials to question Christian homeschooled students about their religious beliefs.

The Goochland County Public Schools in Virginia decided to do away with the policy after receiving backlash from parents and students that argued that policy infringed upon their religious beliefs. The policy, put into place in 2013, required children, ages 14 and over, to provide a statement about their religious beliefs if they wished to be homeschooled.

The school board claimed at the time of the policy's implementation that its purpose was to ensure children wishing to be homeschooled were truly doing so for religious reasons. The school board said that the purpose of the statement was to prove that the "request for exemption is based upon a conscientious opposition to attendance at a public school or at a private, denominational, or parochial school due to bona fide religious training or beliefs."

Virginia lawmakers kill bills meant to protect rights of accused students
The Daily Press
January 30, 2015

Legislators shot down a trio of bills this week meant to give students who are accused of sexual assault more rights during the internal campus inquiries that can lead to expulsion.

The bills were tabled at a small House subcommittee meeting, and as the Virginia General Assembly grapples with how to handle the suddenly high-profile issue of on-campus sexual assault.

Bills requiring administrators and faculty who learn of an assault to report it to law enforcement are moving forward in Richmond, despite concerns from advocates who say victims don't always want criminal investigations.

Federal Policy

Rising tuition at public colleges, funding cuts leave students deeper in debt
Arizona Daily Star
February 2, 2015


Michael Bayne has done everything you're supposed to do to avoid taking on too much debt for college. He lives off-campus to save money on housing. He's always working at least one job — sometimes two. And he enrolled at an in-state public school, Arizona State University.

But it's not nearly enough. The $2,500 in grants Bayne received this semester covered less than half of his tuition at ASU. A decade ago, the same amount of aid would have been enough to pay his entire bill.

"My parents don't have money to help me, so to help pay for tuition, pay for books, pay for everything, I work a full-time job," he said. "And I still have $17,000 in student loans."

Obama’s Proposed Budget Seeks More for Education
The Wall Street Journal

January 30, 2015

President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2016 budget proposal calls for $70.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education, a $3.6 billion increase from the current level, with backing for signature proposals such as making community college free, simplifying the financial aid process and expanding preschool.

America’s elite: An hereditary meritocracy
The Economist
January 24, 2015

Some self-perpetuation by elites is unavoidable; the children of America’s top dogs benefit from nepotism just as those in all other societies do. But something else is now afoot. More than ever before, America’s elite is producing children who not only get ahead, but deserve to do so: they meet the standards of meritocracy better than their peers, and are thus worthy of the status they inherit.

Part of the change is due to the increased opportunities for education and employment won by American women in the twentieth century. A larger pool of women enjoying academic and professional success, or at least showing early signs of doing so, has made it easier for pairs of young adults who will both excel to get together. Between 1960 and 2005 the share of men with university degrees who married women with university degrees nearly doubled, from 25% to 48%, and the change shows no sign of going into reverse.
What do Virginians think about the SOLs, testing?

Testing continues to be a hot political topic in education policy.  As Congress geared up for a new session recently, the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, reiterated the Obama administration's position that federally mandated annual tests should be a key part of any reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  The issue continues to be debated in the Virginia General Assembly.

Our Poll Snapshot this week looks at information from the recent release of our Commonwealth Education Poll that looked at several questions related to testing and the Virginia Standards of Learning.  Read below for more detail.  We'll also be breaking down more detailed results of the poll in the coming months in Compass Point. 

The General Assembly continues in full swing despite snowy weather early this week.  Check out the excerpt below from David Blount's General Assembly Week 2 review.  Weekly updates are posted to the website each Monday detailing the progress of education related budget and legislation. 

And in keeping with the testing theme, check out this qualification exam that eigth-graders took in 1912 in order to qualify for scholarships to high school in Bullitt County, KY.

We hope you have a great week and a great start to the shortest month of the year!

Sincerely,
CEPI
Poll Snapshot:  Virginians' Opinion of the SOLs
A year after Virginia policy-makers acted to reduce the number of standardized tests, the public continues to register a blend of support and concern about the impacts that Standards of Learning (SOLs) have on the state’s education system.

Majorities of respondents see the SOLs as a positive in promoting accountability and equity across educational institutions. Fifty-eight percent (58%) see a benefit in accountability, agreeing that the SOLs hold schools accountable for student achievement. Only 37% disagree. A slightly smaller majority, 54%, see an equity benefit, saying that the SOLs make sure that all students in Virginia meet the same academic standards. Minority respondents are more likely to agree that SOLs hold schools accountable (69%) and ensure that all students meet the same standards (60%) when compared to whites, where only 54% and 50% agreed with the same respective statements.

But while respondents overall feel SOLs create accountability for schools with regards to student performance, a majority of Virginians (58%) feel that SOLs don’t help improve student achievement itself. Likewise, more respondents (38%) feel that increased testing has hurt student performance than feel that it has helped (21%). Almost a third of respondents (32%) feel it made no difference one way or the other when it comes to student performance.

There is also a clear sense from the public that SOLs create negative impacts on the classroom experience and for the individual student. More than three-quarters of Virginians (79%) agree that preparations for SOL testing take so much class time that teachers can’t cover all the important material. A strong majority (66%) agree that SOL tests are putting too much pressure on students.

“The public has a complex view of the SOLs, standardized testing and accountability standards,” McDougle said. “They appear to like the accountability it provides for measuring whether the adults in a school system are doing their jobs well, but they are concerned about the impact it has on kids and classrooms. When it gets down to the level of the impact on an individual student, most question if the system is helping. If policy-makers look for ways to reduce the stress of high-stakes testing but keep the ability to compare performance across school systems and leverage that for improved performance, they are likely to find support from the broader public.”

Within opinion about the impact of SOLs and testing on student performance or achievement, significant differences exist between several demographic groups. In comparing minority and white perspectives, minorities are more likely to say that testing has helped (31% compared to 17% of whites).

Likewise, those with an education level of high school or less are more likely to say testing helped (31%) than are those with some college (19%) or a college diploma (14%). Finally those with household incomes below $50,000 are more likely to say testing has helped (30%) than is the case with the two higher income categories ($50,000-$100,000 – 18%; $100,000 or more – 15%).

To read the full results of the second release, visit our website.

General Assembly Update - Week 3

Excerpted from CEPI's weekly General Assembly Update

"State Budget Issues
Budget writers in the General Assembly are working on plans to provide pay raises for state and local employees, including teachers, as they race toward a February 8 deadline to produce amendments to the state’s biennial budget. House Appropriations Committee members have told their colleagues that the Committee will propose FY16 pay raises for state employees, state-supported local employees, college faculty and teachers, to be effective August 1, contingent on revenues being available to fund the pay hikes. The Senate Finance Committee also is considering ways to craft a pay raise for workers. House leaders say they are looking to provide pay increases of one to two percent, which could cost in excess of $100 million. They are hopeful that payroll tax revenues will continue to grow, as has been the case in recent months, making the pay raises possible. A revised revenue report should be available by the middle of February and can be considered by lawmakers as they shape amendments to the FY15/16 state spending plan by the end of next month.

Representatives from the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) told the Senate Finance Committee this past week that teacher retirement rates will continue to creep up over the next five years to over 15%, then begin to fall after 2020, as the “hybrid” pension plan approved several years ago has a track record and the 10-year payback from the 2010 deferred contribution has ended. In the current biennial budget, the teacher contribution rate is 14.5%; however, the governor’s proposed budget would drop the rate to 14.15% as a result of a proposed stock sale that would reduce the unfunded teacher pension liability.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Steve Staples spoke earlier this week to the Elementary and Secondary Education subcommittee of House Appropriations about some of the challenges to school improvement that are being seen in Virginia. He made some eye-opening points about the past five years:

  • The number of economically-disadvantaged students has grown from 34% to 41% of Virginia’s public school students.
  • English Language Learners in Virginia have grown to 95,000, an increase of 15%.
  • The percentage of students with the most need for intensive special education, such as autism and other health impairments, has grown by 23% to 46,865.
He also noted that in FY14, state funding for direct aid to public education was more than $308 million less than in FY07, and that since 2008, K-12 public education staffing has been reduced by 5,000 positions throughout the state.

Education Legislation
This past week saw a lot of discussion in both the House and Senate about the use of seclusion and restraint in public schools. The bills are HB 1443 and SB 782, which as proposed, would require the Board of Education (BOE) to adopt regulations on the subject that, among other things, incorporate federal guidelines. Children and adults testified about the horrors of the use of such practices in schools and it was noted that Virginia is among 14 states not in conformity with federal provisions. SB 782 passed the Senate on a 35 to 4 vote after being amended to be “consistent” with the federal guidelines; HB 1443 was recommended for approval by a House Education subcommittee."

To read the full newsletter, visit our website.