Virginia’s new school rating system sparks controversy; Fairfax County warns of negative impact

Fairfax County officials are raising alarms over Virginia’s impending changes to school accreditation rankings, arguing that the new system could negatively impact the state’s largest school district.

The controversy centers on the Virginia State Board of Education's recent decision to modify the accreditation process for public schools, aligning with Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin's push for greater accountability in education. 

Critics say that the revised standards set public schools up for failure.

Last week, the state board, with eight of its nine members appointed by Governor Youngkin, voted to alter the way schools are rated starting in the 2025-26 school year. 

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Fairfax County board members and staff are particularly concerned that the new standards rely too heavily on test scores, without giving sufficient weight to measuring students' progress.

"Currently, English language learners’ achievement scores on content assessments don’t count towards a school’s overall score until the student has received 11 semesters of instruction," explained Michael Molloy, director of government relations for Fairfax County Public Schools. "This new system will drop that down all the way to three semesters."

Under the new plan, Virginia schools will receive one of three rankings: Fully Accredited, Accredited with Conditions, or Accreditation Denied. 

Fairfax officials fear that by focusing on metrics like student academic readiness and graduation outcomes, the new system could misrepresent Fairfax schools by highlighting underperforming students, rather than tracking their progress.

"So they’ll have all the things we don’t have answers for straightened out in the next month? No!" said Karl Frisch, chair of the Fairfax County Board of Education. "So they’re voting on it before straightening it out? Can you imagine if we tried to do something like that here?"

Racha Sizemore Heizer, also a member of the Fairfax County Board of Education, voiced her concerns about the exclusion of social studies assessments in the new ratings system. 

"There’s no secret there’s been a battle over the accurate teaching of history, and all of a sudden the VBOE is not measuring — unless I’m missing something here — any assessments around social studies!" she said.

In a letter to parents, Fairfax County School Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid called the policy shift a "concerning change." 

FOX 5 reached out to the Virginia Board of Education on Wednesday for comment but did not receive a response. The final accreditation rules are expected to be finalized on Sept. 26.