By Lucas Menendez-Hassel
Every year, students at FCPS are faced with the oh-so-lovely SOL’s, where we are tested about what we learned during the school year. Many students question why we take the SOL’s, but now more than ever, we wonder if everyone will be taking them at all. Not even teachers are sure, some say one thing, and others say something else. Ms. Shreve, the testing coordinator for Herndon High school, was able to answer a few questions regarding this year’s SOL’s.
How has the overall dynamic of test taking changed?
“I believe testing is going to be a little more difficult for kids this year. Students have not been receiving as much instruction during this school year compared to other school years. Hopefully with students returning to school, there will be more instruction and more content learned that is needed to pass those SOL’s. There is also more flexibility approved by the Virginia Department of Education.”
Will SOL’s be continued this year?
“SOL’s will continue! Select juniors and seniors were recommended to take a test called WorkKeys Business Writing, which took place a few weeks ago. They were recommended for the WorkKeys test by their English teacher. Also for history, students will be completing a performance based assessment (PBA), which is more of a project or essay, that is graded by their teacher.”
Where will the tests be taken this year?
“The SOL’s are required to be taken in school through TestNav, but the history PBA can be taken in person, or at home. If there are any health issues, or concerns regarding family members, parents may defer or postpone their child’s SOL tests until next year.”
Will there be a lower passing score, and will there still be retakes?
“Though the passing score is 400 or higher, there is a thing called an Emergency LAVC. This allows students, who passes their current SOL associated classes and earns at least a score of 350 on the SOLs to earn the verified credit required for graduation. This being said verified credits will still be required for students to graduate.”
Will the SOL’s end up also changing for the future?
“I hope they will change for the future. I hope the history PBA’s will stick around. We will continue offering the WorkKeys for students, who may struggle passing the English writing or reading SOL tests. However, the U.S. Department of Education and the Virginia Department of Education both have testing policies about the standardized tests that are needed before students graduate from high school. I believe students will always need to complete the reading, biology, and a math test during their high school career.”
It is now official, the SOL’s are still a thing, with a few exceptions of course. Though, there have been some big changes. So, with all of this being said, do you agree, or disagree with the decision Virginia’s Department of Education has made?