Dive Brief:

• Virginia’s new superintendent of public instruction, Steve Staples, is known for advocating for less mandated testing of students and a new evaluation system for teachers and schools. 

• Staples, who has been serving as the executive director of Virginia Association of School Superintendents, led a campaign asking school boards across the state to reform the current test-centric evaluation methods used to measure accountability. 

• While the General Assembly has decided this year to cut the number of mandated Standards of Learning exams students must take over the course of their schooling, these changes are not enough for Staples, who wants to refashion the entire state’s accountability system. 

Dive Insight:

With the Common Core continuing to roll out across the nation and Race to the Top’s ongoing push for teacher evaluations tied to said standards, Virginia has really picked an innovative thinker as its new state superintendent. 

As a recent press release quotes Staples as saying:

“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. It’s time to review the two decades old accountability system to better align it with the needs of the 21st Century, and we need to encourage our schools to innovate and meet the changing expectations of workplace and society. I am ready to hit the ground running to tackle the challenges Virginia’s education system faces and ensure every Virginia student has access to quality public education.”