Virginia SOL scores higher than last years

Virginia students raised their reading and math SOL test scores five points and saw a two-point gain in writing, science and history tests, Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven Staples announced Tuesday. Waynesboro had the lowest math average with 68.17. This year, 85 percent of students district-wide passed reading tests, up from 81 percent last year, and the passage rate for math rose two points to 83 percent.

They said that writing is the main area they will focus on over the next year. The district as a whole, one of the most affluent in the country, has among the highest test scores in the state.

This past school year was the first in which students in third through eighth grades were allowed to retake reading, math, science and history SOL tests.

“I take my SOLs once a semester and it’s a good benchmark of how I preform on my tests and it makes me think a lot”, explained Ed Chavez, a student at Fort Defiance High School.

In Staunton, Ware Elementary, Shelburne Middle and McSwain Elementary each saw improvements in both math and English. Overall performance of African-American students in mathematics improved by seven points in 2014-2015, while Hispanic students achieved six-point gains in reading and mathematics.

School leaders in Harrisonburg said they continue to measure their success by improvements made over the years, not by how compare to the state average.

State accreditation ratings will be issued this fall, following the adoption by the Board of Education of revised accreditation standards aligned with legislation approved by the 2015 General Assembly. Bessie Weller will also have a new family engagement coordinator. “This year’s impressive results are due to the committed leadership in all of our classrooms and throughout every school in our county”. After Virginia increased the level of difficulty of its tests in recent years, scores had fallen, but the gains in the 2014-2015 school year reflect an upward trend attributed in part to teachers and students becoming accustomed to the more rigorous tests. So Virginia streamlined testing this year, eliminating some in elementary and middle schools.

Carlin Springs Elementary School, which has Arlington County’s highest rate of students receiving free or reduced-price meals, is roughly 70 percent Latino. Statewide, students posted five-point overall gains in reading and mathematics while increasing by two points each in writing, science and history.

“The subject areas that schools have been targeting, we’re seeing that pay off”, Harris said.

Fairfax County saw gains similar to those experienced statewide, and county students did better than state averages. Of the school division’s 20 schools, 17 saw improvements.

Virginia students bumped up their performances on standards of learning (SOL) tests this past school year. Passage rates for other subjects remained largely the same, but still far surpassed state averages.

In the Valley, all the school districts, except for Rockingham and Augusta scored below the state average of 79.