Raising educational standards while keeping costs down are key goals for the Commonwealth, Virginia Secretary of Education Wilbert Bryant said in a speech before about 60 people at the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society Friday night.
"When we set the bar low, students will strive low," Bryant said.
He said that by revising the state's Standards of Learning in 1994, Virginia has set a high standard for elementary and high-school students.
He added that it also was important to raise colleges' and universities' academic standards to make them more accountable to taxpayers. Bryant said this goal is accomplished through Gov. James S. Gilmore's III (R) Executive Order One, creating the Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education in 1998.
Through raised standards, Bryant said he has "no doubts that U.Va. will be No. 1 again" in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. He said the state plans to work out a contract with each school for a six-year period to offer a steady stream of money.
"It should not be where in the past university presidents lobbied the General Assembly and gained more funds for their school," he added. Bryant addressed criticism of state funding for universities by pointing out that the state increased funding of schools by $75 million to counter the tuition cut Gilmore spearheaded.
He said criticism of out-of-state tuition hikes is unfounded.
"There is no proof that the out-of-state tuition increase will hurt us," he added. "Out-of-state students will always have to pay 100 percent of the cost of their education."
One problem that faces Virginia's universities is that one out of four Virginia high school graduates need remediation, he said.
In order to combat this, the state created the new Standards of Learning Tests, Bryant said.
He said one reason teachers have been overwhelmed by preparing their students for these tests is because "parents have abdicated their responsibility to be involved."
Some audience members were critical of Bryant's speech. "I was not impressed by Bryant's speech. He did not address the issues that concerned many of us in the audience," first-year College Student Abhi Nath said.
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