Claim: Virginia has “lagged behind other states when it comes to (covid-19) testing.”
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Race to the Top
text: round of the competition. Virginia finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round, but McDonnell said that Virginia would not continue for the second round, believing the competition required the use of common education performance standards instead of Virginia's current standards. The use of common performance standards is required. Although McDonnell supported the Race to the Top program during his campaign for governor, he claimed on his June 1 appearance on MSNBC that the Race to the Top rules precluded participating states from adopting more rigorous standards in addition to whatever multi-state standards they join. However, in some

title: Bob McDonnell
text: he withdrew Virginia from the second round of "Race to the Top". Virginia had finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round; McDonnell decided that Virginia should not file its application for the second round because he erroneously believed the competition required the use of multi-state education performance standards instead of Virginia's standards. However, the use of common performance standards were not required and counted for 40 points out of a possible 500 total points in evaluating state proposals. McDonnell later stated on MSNBC that the Race to the Top rules precluded participating states from adopting more rigorous

title: Education in Virginia
text: tested in grades 3-8, and also at the end of some high school courses. Testing depends on the curriculum, and can occur at any grade level according to what the curriculum says. In 2001, there was parental resistance to the Standards of Learning, or SOLs, saying they were unrealistic goals. By 2004, students were required to take a series of 11 exams that were all based on the SOLs. By 2007, in order for a school to keep its accreditation, they must have a 70% pass rate of the SOLs among their students. They also argued that the tests did

title: Education in Virginia
text: Education in Virginia Education in Virginia addresses the needs of students from pre-kindergarten through adult education. Virginia's educational system consistently ranks in the top ten states on the U.S. Department of Education's National Assessment of Educational Progress, with Virginia students outperforming the average in almost all subject areas and grade levels tested. The 2010 "Quality Counts" report ranked Virginia's K–12 education fourth best in the country. All school divisions must adhere to educational standards set forth by the Virginia Department of Education, which maintains an assessment and accreditation regime known as the Standards of Learning to ensure accountability. In 2008,

title: Standards of Learning
text: for the demands of the 21st century. The SOL set the bar higher for test-oriented education and performance-driven results. In 1998, the first year of SOL testing, only 2 percent of the Virginia Commonwealth’s public schools met the standard for full accreditation. The percentage of schools meeting the state’s accreditation standards increased to 6.5 percent in 1999, 22 percent in 2000, 40 percent in 2001, 64 percent in 2002, 78 percent in 2003, and 84 percent in 2004. In October 2005, the state reported that 92 percent of the Commonwealth’s 1,834 schools received accreditation ratings for 2005–2006, with students meeting

title: Education in Virginia
text: sports. Virginia's two land grant universities Virginia Tech and Virginia State University receive federal funding to perform agricultural research and to conduct cooperative extension services. Virginia opted to not participate in No Child Left Behind federal funding. Virginia filed an application for the first round of federal Race to the Top funding, but finished 31st out of 41 states in the first round, and did not receive funds. On May 26, 2010, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell withdrew the state from the second round of Race to the Top funding. McDonnell did not believe that Virginia should apply for the second

title: Education in Virginia
text: Present", which Masoff owns, announced that it will distribute sticker labels that can be used to cover the disputed paragraph. Virginia has a statewide system of support and accountability for its public schools. These standards hold the state accountable for rigorous academic standards, called the Standards of Learning (SOL). Success is measured through annual SOL testing and also through alternative testing. The standards test students in English, math, science, and social studies. Tests are conducted at the end of 3rd, 5th, 8th grade, and at the end of some high school courses in all subjects, but English and math are

title: Virginia
text: of $717 million in 2015. Northern Virginia, once considered the state's dairy capital, now hosts software, communication technology, defense contracting companies, particularly in the Dulles Technology Corridor. The state has the highest average and peak Internet speeds in the United States, with the third-highest worldwide. Northern Virginia's data centers can carry up to 70% of the nation's internet traffic, and in 2015 the region was the largest and fastest growing data center market in the nation. In 2009, "Forbes" magazine named Virginia the best state in the nation for business for the fourth year in a row, while CNBC named

title: Virginia
text: was one of five states to receive a perfect score in disaster preparedness according to a 2008 report by the Trust for America's Health, based on criteria such as detecting pathogens and distributing vaccines and medical supplies. Because of the 1932 Byrd Road Act, the state government controls most of Virginia's roads, instead of a local county authority as is usual in other states. , the Virginia Department of Transportation owns and operates of the total of roads in the state, making it the third largest state highway system in the United States. Although the Washington Metropolitan Area, which includes

title: Standards of Learning
text: Public Schools in Virginia. The Virginia Department of Education has posted fact sheets detailing the timeline for changes, accreditation ratings, diploma requirements, and other documentation related to the SOL. Annual reports regarding the condition and needs of public education in the Commonwealth of Virginia are also located on the Virginia Government Website. A student must get a raw score of 400 or higher on their SOL(s) in order to pass the test. A student's advancement to the next grade is not contingent on passing any SOL tests. Passing with a raw score of 500 is considered advanced/proficient. A perfect score

title: Virginia Tech
text: MCAT scores range was 503–520 (median 512, mean 512), and mean undergraduate GPA was 3.57. In "U.S. News & World Report"s list of "2018 Best Colleges", Virginia Tech ranked tied for 69th among national universities and tied for 25th among public. Virginia Tech is among three public universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia to rank among the top 25, with the University of Virginia at No. 3 and the College of William & Mary at No. 6. Other than California, Virginia is the only state with three or more schools in the Top 25 Public Universities. The College of Engineering

title: Virginia Department of Education
text: assesses student performance in the elementary school and secondary school grades by the Standards of Learning (SOL) test. Students are required to take them once they reach the third grade. In 2013, the Virginia Department of Education released a 25-minute video, "The Virginia Indians: Meet the Tribes," covering both historical and contemporary Native American life in Virginia. Virginia Department of Education The Virginia Department of Education is the state education agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is headquartered in the James Monroe Building in Richmond. The department is headed by the Secretary of Education, who is a member of

title: John Chittick
text: of peers, media and via social networking. The first major public testing of youth was held on April 7, 2013 in front of a large audience in Virginia Beach, Virginia that was covered by local TV. Initially, the public aspect of the testing did not sit well with some local authorities in southeastern Virginia, but Chittick argued it was protected under freedom of speech. After a formal complaint was lodged with the state's Attorney General, TA-PC was allowed to continue on the legal basis it was the right of all consenting youths to choose when and where they are tested.

title: Virginia
text: Virginia Air National Guard. Since the resumption of capital punishment in Virginia in 1982, 107 people have been executed, the second highest number in the nation. The "total crime risk" is 28% lower than the national average. Since Virginia ended prisoner parole in 1995, the rate of recidivism has fallen to 28.3%, among the lowest nationwide. Virginia is an open-carry state. Over the 20th century, Virginia shifted from a largely rural, politically Southern and conservative state to a more urbanized, pluralistic, and politically moderate environment. Up until the 1970s, Virginia was a racially divided one-party state dominated by the Byrd

title: Virginia
text: institutions in the state, including nationally ranked liberal arts colleges Washington and Lee University at No. 11, the University of Richmond at No. 27, and the Virginia Military Institute at No. 72. Liberty University is Virginia's largest university, with an enrollment total of greater than 110,000 students. Virginia has a mixed health record, and is ranked as the 26th overall healthiest state according to the 2013 United Health Foundation's Health Rankings. Virginia also ranks 21st among the states in the rate of premature deaths, 6,816 per 100,000. In 2008, Virginia reached its lowest ever rate of infant mortality, at 6.7

title: Education in Virginia
text: one of the most significant pieces of legislation to affect education in the last 30 years. No Child Left Behind was designed to hold schools accountable for students' proficiency, as determined by testing procedures. NCLB states that the 4 major goals are "stronger accountability for results, increased flexibility and local control, expanded options for parents, and an emphasis on teaching options that have been proven to work.". The goal of NCLB was to have all students testing at proficient levels by the 2012-2013 school year. It also says that 95% of all eligible students must be taking the SOL tests.

title: Vermont
text: bait for raccoons in 1997. Known rabies cases in raccoons peaked in 2007 at 165. The program is in cooperation with neighboring states and Canada. Vermont was named the nation's smartest state in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, there was a gap between state testing standards and national, which is biased in favor of the state standards by 30%, on average. This puts Vermont 11th-best in the nation. Most states have a higher bias. However, when allowance for race is considered, a 2007 US Government list of test scores shows Vermont white fourth graders performed 25th in the nation for

title: 30th National Geographic Bee
text: question was “Virginia has a higher GDP than Portugal, True or False?”-the answer is "true." The 54 state champions competed in the preliminary rounds held from May 21-22, 2018. This part of the contest consisted of 10 oral rounds as well as a written portion. The top 10 contestants with the highest scores in the preliminary rounds was held May 23, 2018. Venkat Ranjan from California was the champion, with Anoushka Buddhikot from New Jersey coming 2nd, and Vishal Sareddy from Georgia placing third. 30th National Geographic Bee The 30th annual National Geographic Bee was held in Washington, D.C. and

title: Education in Virginia
text: oversees the regulation of 294 state accredited and 141 non-accredited private schools. An additional 23,290 students receive homeschooling. Nine high schools in the Northern Virginia region are ranked in the top 100 nationwide by "Newsweek" magazine. In addition, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, which requires an application, is listed as the best public high school in the nation according to "U.S. News & World Report". All Northern Virginia schools pay the test fees for students to take Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, and Alexandria and Arlington lead the nation in college course tests. "Virtual Virginia" (VVa)

title: West Virginia
text: and Huntington last and next-to-last out of 189 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's National Index of Children's Progress ranked West Virginia 43rd in the nation for all kids, and last for white kids. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2013 KIDS COUNT Data Book also ranked West Virginia's education system 47th in the nation for the second straight year. Charleston, West Virginia has the worst divorce rate among 100 cities in the nation. Stephen Smith, the executive director of the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition, said that poor employment prospects are to blame: "The pressure