The Virginia Department of Education is facing calls for greater transparency regarding plans to raise academic benchmarks for students. However, in grade 4 reading, the committees recommended increasing the proficiency minimum to 444, up from 400. Carol Bauer, president of the Virginia Education Association, said in a statement that the association has been calling on the board “for months” to model how the proposed cut score changes would impact graduation rates. She added that after other states adjusted their cut scores, they found “measurable impacts” and that Virginia can run a similar analysis. They also requested that the state hold harmless graduating seniors taking the assessment test this year, considering the proposed higher score requirements.