ISSUES  > Education > School Choice
 
 
SchoolChoiceStatus 
K-12 Public Schools and Students (2001-2002)
K-12 Public School Teachers (2001-2002)
K-12 Private Schools
K-12 Public and Private School Student Academic Performance
Summary
Background
State School Report Card
blue line

Virginia

 

School Choice Status

  • Public school choice: No
  • State constitution: Blaine amendment and compelled-support language
  • Charter school law: Established 1998
    Strength of law: Weak
    Number of charter schools in operation (2005): 5
    Number of students enrolled in charter schools (2005): 938
  • Publicly funded private school choice: No
  • Home-school law: Moderate regulation

K-12 Public Schools and Students (2002-2003)

  • Public school enrollment : 1,177,229
  • Students enrolled per teacher (2001-2002): 13.2
  • Number of schools (2000-2001): 1,841
  • Number of districts: 132
  • Current expenditures: $9,208,329,000
  • Current per-pupil expenditure: $7,822
  • Amount of revenue from the federal government: 6.6%

K-12 Public School Teachers (2002-2003)

  • Number of teachers: 90,952
  • Average salary: $42,778

K-12 Private Schools (2001-2002)

  • Private school enrollment: 109,993
  • Number of schools: 631
  • Number of teachers: 10,617

K-12 Public and Private School Student Academic Performance

  • NAEP test results:
 

NAEP Tests
Virginia Student
Performance

State (National)
2005 Math
Scale = 0-500

State (National)
2005 Science
Scale = 0-300



State (National)
2005 Reading
Scale = 0-500

 

 

4th Grade

8th Grade

4th Grade

8th Grade

4th Grade

8th Grade

Average Scale Score

240 (237)

284 (278)

161 (151)

155 (149)

226 (217)

268 (260)

Advanced

6% (5%)

8% (6%)

5% (3%)

4% (3%)

8% (7%)

3% (3%)

Proficient

34% (30%)

25% (23%)

35% (29%)

30% (29%)

29% (23%)

32% (26%)

Basic

43% (44%)

41% (39%)

40% (68%)

32% (59%)

35% (33%)

43% (42%)

Below Basic

17% (21%)

25% (32%)

20% (32%)

34% (41%)

28% (38%)

22% (29%)

 

State Contacts

Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute
Ms. Lil Tuttle, Education Director
112 Elden Street, Suite P
Herndon, VA 20170
Phone: Lil Tuttle's cell phone: 804-337-9706; office: 888-891-4288
Fax: office: 703-318-8867; Lil Tuttle: 843-347-7134
Website: www.cblpi.org/choices
E-mail: ltuttle@cblpi.org; info@cblpi.org

Home Educators Association of Virginia
Jim Bentley, Executive Director
P.O. Box 6745
2248-G Dabney Road
Richmond, VA 23230
Phone: (804) 278-9200
Fax: (804) 278-9202
Website: www.heav.org
E-mail: office@heav.org

Home School Legal Defense Association
Mr. J. Michael Smith, President
P.O. Box 3000
Purcellville, VA 20134
Phone: (540) 338-5600
Fax: (540) 338-2733
Website: www.hslda.org
E-mail: info@hslda.org

Landmark Legal Foundation
Mr. Mark Levin, President
19415 Deerfield Avenue
Suite 312
Leesburg, VA 20176
Phone: (703) 554-6100
Fax: (703) 554-6119
Website: www.landmarklegal.org
E-mail: eric@landmarklegal.org

Lexington Institute
Mr. Don Soifer, Senior Fellow
1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 900
Arlington, VA 22209
Phone: (703) 522-5828
Fax: (703) 522-5837
Website: www.lexingtoninstitute.org
E-mail: soifer@lexingtoninstitute.org

Rutherford Institute
Mr. John W. Whitehead, President
P.O. Box 7482
Charlottesville, VA 22906
Phone: (434) 978-3888
Fax: (434) 978-1789
Website: www.rutherford.org
E-mail: tristaff@rutherford.org

The Family Foundation of Virginia
Mrs. Victoria Cobb, President
One Capitol Square, 830 East Main Street, Suite 1201
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 343-0010
Fax: (804) 343-0050
Website: www.familyfoundation.org
E-mail: vafamily@familyfoundation.org

Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy
Mr. Michael Thompson, Chairman and President
9035 Golden Sunset Lane
Springfield, VA 22153
Phone: (703) 440-9447
Fax: (703) 455-1531
Website: www.thomasjeffersoninst.org
E-mail: info@thomasjeffersoninst.org

Virginia Institute for Public Policy
Mr. John Taylor, President
7326 Early Marker Court
Gainesville, VA 20155
Phone: (703) 753-5900
Fax: (703) 753-1900
Website: www.virginiainstitute.org
E-mail: jtaylor@virginiainstitute.org

Virginia State CAPE
Ms. Joanne Webster, Vice President
Virginia Council for Private Education
1901 Huguenot Road, Suite 301
Richmond, VA 23235
Phone: (804) 423-6435
Fax: (804) 423-6436
E-mail: jwebster@vcpe.org