This article was written by Saundra Davis, a Fairfax County resident and former candidate for Fairfax County School Board.

The recent Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) School Board work session on the new Virginia accountability system could easily become a case study on misinformation in educational policy. FCPS staff and board members were startingly misinformed on the difference between state accreditation vs. federal accountability, and FCPS staff could not accurately inform board members of benchmarks to other states.

The discussion was primarily dominated by inaccuracies originating from a blog by 4 Public Education, a Virginia teachers union-supported group run by an FCPS activist who ironically claims expertise in “fake grassroots” and “dark money.” FCPS staff further exacerbated the situation through ignorance and deliberate spin, fueling partisan tensions rather than providing the board and the public with clear, factual information.

The misinformation also has ties to Anne Holton, a Democratic member of the Virginia Board of Education (VBOE) and the spouse of Senator Tim Kaine. Holton, an advisor to 4 Public Education, could have intervened to correct the blog post. Her efforts to undermine the new accountability system appear driven by a desire to protect her legacy—she was on the 2017 VBOE that approved the current flawed system—regardless of how foolish it makes the FCPS School Board and other Democratic politicians look.

Virginia is in the process of separating its federal accountability system from its state accreditation system. This separation is vital for transparency, particularly in light of the significant learning loss students experienced during Virginia’s prolonged school closures (which Holton still vocally defends with inaccuracies). Unfortunately, Virginia’s current accreditation and accountability system, designed under Holton’s watch, uses lower state standards to paint a rosier picture of school performance than the data mandated under the federal 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). On Virginia School Quality Profiles, the lower state accreditation metrics are front and center, while the more stringent ESSA-required information is buried in confusing and hard-to-navigate tabs.

During the session, board member Melanie Meren (Hunter Mill) asked whether any states have separated accreditation from accountability. FCPS staff, astonishingly uninformed, promised to look into it. In fact, most states have done so, and this bifurcation is supported by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, led by former FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand.

Board member Marcia St. John-Cunning (Franconia) was nearly in tears after FCPS staff suggested that English Language Learners were being unfairly targeted by their inclusion in certain accountability reports after just three semesters. Other board members expressed similar outrage, unaware that federal law mandates this inclusion and every state’s accountability system includes it. Virginia’s state accreditation data omits this information, but it is included—albeit difficult to find—in the federal accountability data within the same School Profiles.

When St. John-Cunning asked which states have successful accountability systems, FCPS staff were clueless, instead incorrectly asserting that the new system is heavily influenced by Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas. In reality, it incorporates many aspects from accountability systems in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

FCPS staff further alarmed the board by claiming that 50-60% of schools would fall into the bottom two of four categories under the new system. However, the VBOE is expected to update test cut scores, likely leading to revisions in these category thresholds. With students still struggling to catch up to pre-COVID levels, this kind of alarmism is irresponsible. For instance, Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s administration is revising its accountability system after only 24% of schools landed in the bottom two of five categories, with the State Superintendent admitting, “I don’t honestly think our accountability system is holding anyone accountable.”

FCPS staff inaccurately described the weighting of Mastery versus Growth as “extremely, more heavily” weighted towards Mastery for elementary and middle schools. In truth, the new system weights Mastery less than Massachusetts does for elementary schools and equally for middle schools.

These are just a few of the significant errors and omissions made by FCPS staff during the session. It’s clear that they are not equipped to inform the board on this issue adequately. FCPS should hire an outside consultant to handle this essential work to prevent further misinformation.