Va. education workgroup recommends revisions to state educational testing
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A state-led work group is recommending Virginia revise its Standards of Learning tests as part of broader plans to restructure the state’s system of assessing students and schools.
The work group, which included Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera and Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons, was created by legislation known as House Bill 585, which charged it with recommending changes to the state’s assessment system and developing an implementation plan prior to the 2027-28 school year.
The report issued Monday “illuminates the actions we must take to advance student outcomes, improve access to quality and timely information for parents, students, and the public, and restore excellence for Virginia students,” Guidera said in a statement.
Virginia students saw sharp declines in test scores during and after the pandemic. Data from the Virginia Department of Education shows that 2022-23 pass rates on the SOLs, the primary tests used by the state to assess student learning and achievement, remained unchanged compared to the previous year. Pass rates also remained below pre-pandemic levels.
Overall, the work group report calls for “clearer and more rigorous Standards of Learning; more rigorous assessment items; more timely, clear, and actionable reporting; improved system coherence; and innovative assessment design,” Guidera and Coons wrote in a letter to the General Assembly.
Specific recommendations include updating the state assessments to reflect the new standards, providing “score reports” to various groups including parents to show student progress and needs, and ensuring the assessment system measures both student proficiency and growth.
The report also recommends that the state provide support to divisions to offer “high-quality, rigorous interim” tests, measure student learning in literacy and number sense before third grade and provide teachers training on using test results to inform their teaching.
The work group recommended the Board of Education pilot and roll out any new assessments prior to the 2027-28 school year and find a vendor to design new assessments aligned with the report.
State law requires the board to review each of its educational standards at least every seven years. Most recently, the board updated its history and social science standards, and it will review the standards for computer science and English next year and for science in January 2025.
The work group noted that any new assessment will require additional funding. Virginia spends significantly less on contracts for grade 3-8 tests than other states, allocating $18 per student compared to the national average of $27.
Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, the patron of the bill creating the work group and a teacher, said in a statement that after reviewing the report, he was “tentatively hopeful that Virginia’s testing system is on the right path.”
“Ahead of the 2024 General Assembly session, I want to urge the administration to continue the constructive, bi-partisan dialogue created by my House Bill 585 and this workgroup to ensure in the future, we have appropriate and effective accountability metrics while also prioritizing continued budgetary investments in our public school necessary to achieve the report’s goals,” he wrote.
The work group recommended the legislature consider amending or removing laws that involve student retesting requirements and those that are not in alignment with the recommendations.
Last month, the board launched efforts to develop a new accountability system to track public schools’ and student performance. Virginia currently has one system for both measures, in contrast to many other states that maintain two separate accreditation and accountability systems.
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This article first appeared on Virginia Mercury and is republished here with permission. Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence.
