Henrico witnesses greater decline in SOL scores than statewide average

The standardized test scores of Henrico County Public Schools students lagged behind those of their counterparts statewide in reading, mathematics, and history/social studies, according to data released earlier this month by the Virginia Department of Education.

The VDOE released the results of the 2022-2023 Virginia Standards of Learning tests Sept. 7, showing that statewide scores remained largely stagnant since the previous year. But Henrico County witnessed a greater decline in SOL scores than the statewide average, with the county's 2022-2023 pass rates in three of the five SOL subject areas below statewide pass rates.

Significantly fewer Henrico public school students passed state assessments in history and social studies during the most recent school year when compared with the previous year, and pass rates also decreased for English assessments.

The most significant difference between division-wide and statewide scores was in history, which 65% of Virginia students passed but only 56% of Henrico students passed. On reading assessment tests, 73% of Virginia students passed, while only 69% of Henrico students passed. And in math assessments, 69% of Virginia students passed while only 65% of Henrico students did so.

Both Virginia students and Henrico students had a 65% pass rate for the writing SOLs, while 67% of Virginia students and 68% of Henrico students passed the science SOLs.

Virginia students, from third grade to eighth grade, take the SOL assessments each spring to measure student achievement for various subjects. Students also take several SOLs in high school. The assessments gauge the success of each school by establishing minimum expectations for what students should know at the end of each grade or course, according to the VDOE.

(Click here to view 2022-2023 Henrico SOL pass rates.)

(Click here to view 2022-2023 Virginia SOL pass rates.)

(Click here to view 2022-2023 Henrico SOL pass rates by student demographic.)

Some substantial declines

Henrico saw surprisingly low scores for a number of SOL tests: only 17% of students passed the eighth grade English Writing SOL, only 21% passed the Chemistry SOL, 30% passed the Virginia/US History SOL, 30% passed the World History II SOL, and 33% passed the Civics/Economics SOL.

But some of those lower scores can be explained by a relatively new change in assessments, according to HCPS Assistant Director of Communications Ken Blackstone.

Henrico Schools implemented four performance assessments during the 2022-2023 school year for a majority of students, according to Blackstone, to take the place of four SOL tests: the End of Course Writing, Eighth Grade Writing, Civics/Economics and VA Studies SOLs. This means a smaller number of students ended up taking these four SOLs, Blackstone said.

“The ’22-’23 percentages on these particular [SOL] tests reflect the scores of a very small group of students – not eighth-graders at large across the system,” he said. “In previous years, that data reflected scores for students across the whole division.”

Performance assessment results were not included in the VDOE SOL results report, and it was unclear at publication time how many Henrico students took the alternative assessments.

Henrico Schools first implemented performance assessments for the Eighth Grade Writing, Civics/Economics and VA Studies SOLs in 2020-2021 when it was initially given as an option by the VDOE through waivers. The assessments were not used in 2021-2022 but will now remain in place at least through 2024-2025.

End of Course tests, such as the Chemistry, World History II, and VA/US History SOLs, are prone to have fluctuating pass rates from year to year because higher-level courses such as chemistry and world history will have fewer students needing to take the SOL, Blackstone said.

“End of Course SOL tests given in high school credit-bearing courses are only given to students needing the test for verified credit or to meet federal participation requirements,” he said. “Because of this smaller number of SOL test-takers, the tendency is for these results to fluctuate more greatly from year to year.”

However, the VDOE listed Henrico Schools as having a 99% participation rate in the reading and math SOLs and a 98% participation rate in the science SOLs, indicating that the SOL results reflected the majority of Henrico students. The VDOE did not list the participation rate for the writing or history/social studies SOLs.

Compared to the previous year’s scores, Henrico Schools also saw significant declines in pass rates for certain SOLs and an overall decline in pass rates for history/social studies tests. Pass rates for the eighth grade Writing SOL decreased by 38 percentage points from last year, while they also dropped in the tests for civics/economics (by 34 points), chemistry (by 32), and world history II (by 28).

Statewide scores did not see as much of a decline in pass rates, except in chemistry (27 percentage point decrease) and world history II (18 points).

Henrico pass rates also were more than 20 percentage points lower than statewide pass rates for the sixth grade Mathematics and Geography SOLs.

The school system did see increases from last year in pass rates for math and science, with an eight percentage point increase in the sixth-grade Mathematics SOL, and seven percentage point increases in fourth-grade Mathematics, Algebra I, and fifth-grade Science SOLs. Statewide pass rates also saw similar increases in math and science.

Disadvantaged groups still behind

Large achievement gaps still exist in Henrico between historically privileged students and historically disadvantaged students.

Pass rates for Black and Hispanic students were significantly lower than their white and Asian peers. Only 25% of Black students in the county passed the Writing SOLs and only 38% passed the History/Social Studies SOLs.

Hispanic students had overall pass rates in the 40s and 50s for the five different subject areas: reading, writing, history/social studies, math, and science. White students had overall pass rates in the 70s and 80s, except for writing, which 57% of white students passed. Asian students had overall pass rates in the 80s and 90s.

Economically disadvantaged students in Henrico also saw overall pass rates in the 40s and 50s, except for the Writing SOL, which 0% of economically disadvantaged students passed.

English learners had the highest pass rate in mathematics (38%) and the lowest in history/social studies (25%). Only 14% of students with disabilities passed the Writing SOLs, and only 26% passed the History/Social Studies SOLs.

Blackstone said that pass rates increased for multiple disadvantaged groups in the subjects of reading, mathematics, and science, although he noted that “achievement gaps across groups remain evident.”

Disparities also were present between West End schools and schools in Eastern Henrico. Schools in the West End, such as Colonial Trail Elementary, Gayton Elementary, Kaechele Elementary, and several others, saw overall pass rates in the 80s and 90s. Pass rates for Rivers Edge Elementary were all in the 90s.

Several schools in Eastern Henrico, however, saw significantly lower scores. Fair Oaks Elementary had overall pass rates in the 20s and 30s, while Glen Lea Elementary, Ratcliffe Elementary, and Highland Springs Elementary had overall pass rates in the 30s and 40s. Laburnum Elementary had a 14% pass rate for the third grade Mathematics SOL.

Most middle schools and high schools saw a large range of schoolwide scores depending on the test. Many middle schools had lower scores in sixth- through eighth-grade mathematics and eighth-grade science, but higher scores in algebra I and geometry. Henrico Virtual Academy, which hosts students K-12, saw pass rates from as low as 7% (World History II SOL) to as high as 81% (English Reading End of Course SOL).

Varina High School also saw a large range of scores, but had the lowest pass rate in Henrico, with 0% of students passing the Chemistry SOL. One-hundred fifty-four students at Varina took one of the four high school-level science SOLs, but the VDOE did not specify how many students took each specific test.

Both Virginia students and Henrico students saw improvements in pass rates during the 2021-2022 school year as compared to the 2020-2021 school year. The VDOE website has a disclaimer that notes that the 2020-2021 SOL results reflect reduced student participation due to COVID-19, which should be taken into consideration when reviewing the data.

In a press release about the 2022-2023 SOL results, VDOE officials noted that the scores show that Virginia students “continue to struggle with COVID-related learning loss in reading and math.”

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**Correction: The article previously stated that performance assessments were offered for students in lieu of four SOLs including the Chemistry SOL, however, a performance assessment was given in lieu of the End of Course Writing SOL, not the Chemistry SOL. The article was updated to reflect this change.

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.