WARNING SIGNS IN VA?: The Washington Examiner reports that state House Delegate Dave Albo has proposed a ban on 7th and 8th graders' use of calculators on statewide Standards of Learning exams. His prime motivator for the legislation comes from a 9th grade teacher who was appalled by students' performance on Algebra 1 pre-tests (presumably sans calculator). Score statewide have dropped as the Virginia DOE has made exams more difficult, and freshman at the state's darling school, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, are also struggling -- reportedly another reason for Albo's proposed changes. Albo also recently enjoyed a spate of headlines recently when he described how controversial debate over pending legislation put a damper on any frisky plans he had for an evening.
