Then-gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin holds a campaign event in Amherst, Virginia, Oct. 28, 2021. (Charles Creitz/Fox News)
Youngkin said educating children with key skills is important, but that the paramount goal of a solid education is to infuse them with confidence and trust that they can pursue their life goals.
"And with that confidence comes the ability to innovate, to expand, to press envelopes, to create businesses, and of course to bring others along," he said, adding that as of late in the U.S. – and in Virginia, prior to his 2022 inauguration – there is a cycle that has been broken.
Youngkin said he took over a state education system that was facing not only the close of a period of less-interactive cyber-schooling due to coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, but also a state where its scholastic "excellence had been eroded" over time.
YOUNGKIN VETOES A SLEW OF VIRGINIA BILLS INCLUDING CONTRACEPTION ACCESS MEASURE
Proficiency expectations of students had been "watered down," he recounted, and therefore, Virginia students were falling behind their peers on a national scale.
"What does that mean? Fewer correct answers on tests that translate into whether a student is proficient or not," he said.
"That is reducing standards and Virginia went from having some of the top standards in the nation to having the lowest proficiency standards in the nation. You couple that with the accreditation process where proficiency was reduced or watered down as one of the inputs into accreditation."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Youngkin called the result of such issues an "honesty gap," or a disparity between what the public is being told and what is really happening in education.
The governor said he came into office in a state then ranked 44th of 50 in reopening schools post-pandemic.
"Was it any surprise that the learning loss in Virginia, among fourth graders, in reading and math, was the worst in the nation? No surprise. And so you have to go to work. And that's where Secretary [Aimee] Guidera and the whole team reacted quickly with all of Virginia," he said.
Multiple attempts to reach officials at the Democratic Party of Virginia by phone, as well as several 2025 statewide Democratic candidates, for comment were unsuccessful.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/education-bedrock-american-dream-youngkin-tells-reagan-forum