One thing that we all now understand is that the learning loss during the pandemic was substantial. Virginia’s excessive and extended school closures ravaged student advancement and well-being. New SOL data from the Virginia Department of Education demonstrates just how devastating these school closures were.

Assessment comparisons with the 2018-2019 school year show overall achievement in math down 34% for third graders, 42% for seventh grade and 44% for eighth graders. More shocking, fewer than half of Black children in the third grade and barely half of Black children in the sixth grade passed reading assessments. Similar drop-off levels for students with disabilities are evident, with math scores plummeting 24 points or a 40% decrease.

What we now know is that Virginia’s schools must never again be closed.

Virginians also understand that to have exceptional education systems, standards matter. Starting during the McAuliffe administration and under Democrat-appointed Board of Education activists, school accreditation standards across the commonwealth were watered down so badly that the 88 schools that previously failed accreditation efforts actually passed. Today, Virginia is the ONLY state with eighth-grade reading expectations below the national bare minimum, rated as “below basic.” Further, only a third of Virginia’s eighth-grade students can meet national reading standards.